The Story Of Luke's Castellan's Past
by Spottedtail
Summary: Most think Luke is cruel, but most likely you will think again after hearing his side of the story.
1. The Dream

_First of all, I want to thank you! All of your guys' feedback and pointers have made me a better writer! _

_This story reveals the main mysteries of Luke Castellan's past. Most wonder how a boy could get so cruel, but Luke was not all bad as we find out in the Last Olympian. _

_This story will provide a little more insight on his personal life. Thanks again for reading and do please comment!  
_

**_Spottedtail

* * *

_**

"Luke!"

That's me. My name is Luke Castellan, and I live with my mother in Westport, Connecticut. I am nine years old, and have already had a pretty rough life.

My father abandoned me when I was an infant, and I had no clue where he was. I longed to see him and ask him why he abandoned me and my mother, and why he did not have the guts to stay with us.

My mother did not like talking about him much because it brought her melancholy so I usually did not provoke her into talking about him.

"Luke!" My mother called again, probably calling me for breakfast.

I sighed and went down the stairs.

My mother was in the kitchen washing dishes. Her hair used to be a beautiful blond, but now it was deathly white. Her eyes were a cloudy white as well. She was dressed in a white linen shirt that had a goddess on it, and a blue jean skirt. My mother was really into Greek Myths for some reason, and she never hesitated to share some myths with me.

She smiled as she wrapped me up in an embrace. "Luke, your meal is ready."

Sitting down before my plate of food, I bluntly asked, "Mother why did Father leave us?"  
My mother's eyes grew sad, and I felt ashamed. My mother probably felt the same sadness that I did, and she probably missed him even more then I did.

"I'm sorry Mother," I said, my voice beginning to crack. My mother came over, drying her hands on a towel. "You did not mean any offense Luke, you were only curious." Wringing her hands together, she said, "Your father was a very busy man, Luke. That is why he left us."

"My father left... and he was too busy...for us?"

My mother shook her head. "His business he runs takes him near and far. He does come to visit once in awhile, but when he does; you are usually at school or in bed."

I frowned. "What does my father do?" I asked softly.

"He runs a delivery business," my mother informed me as she walked back to the sink and began to wash dishes again.

I scowled. How could my father abandon me for a _delivery business? _My heart built up in resentment. My father had visited, but he never waited to see me? 

_He does not love you Luke,_ said a voice in my head. _If he did, he would have come to visit you a long time ago...He does not care Luke... _

I looked around. Who was talking to me? _Luke... _

I stared down at my eggs and bacon, suddenly not at all hungry. My mother turned to look at me over her shoulder. 

"Are you okay little one?" she asked quietly." Did I anger you?" 

"_You_ didn't," I muttered. "My father did." I didn't mean her to, but my mother heard me. 

"Luke, anger does not gain you anything," she said. "Anger only leads to resentment, and resentment leads to suffering. We can only pray that your father will come back."

I swallowed. "Okay." 

_Don't listen to your mother Luke,_ the voice in my head crooned. _Anger is the always the best motive in a situation. Let your anger fill to the brim Luke, and you will go VERY far in life._

I shook my head_. Who are you?_ I asked.

_I am your Helper. I will help you in all of your trials you will face. Luke, I will help you gain what you always wanted. I will give you **world domination**. _

_Why me? _I asked._ And you did not answer my question on what or who you are! _

_I am the Crooked One, and I'm here to help you because you need my help, you need a destiny..._

That night I had a vivid dream.

I was running as hard as I could up a steep slope. My breathing was ragged and breathless. I was with two companions, whose faces were hidden. They were running beside me. Their breath was silent, compared to mine. I raced up the top of the slope and stopped. My two companions stopped as well.

"Have they caught us?" asked one of my companions, panting hard.

"Not yet," the other companion replied.

"We better hurry, before they do. Come on Annabeth," the first one said.

I glanced at them, confused. _What was I doing here?_ I wondered thoughtfully. I had no clue what was going on.

"Where are we?" I asked.

The girls looked like I was going crazy. "We are in Westport, your hometown!"

I glanced doubtfully at the two girls. _I **am **going insane,_ I thought.

"Oh no, they have caught us!" the first companion yelled.

Suddenly, I was face to face with a horrible looking creature. It was tall with monstrous looking teeth, and a scaly body.

"Luke! Do something!" one of the girls yelled. I was so confused. How did they know my name? What was this creature? What was I doing here? And why did it feel so real? The monster raced up the slope toward me, and I gasped.

"No!" I screamed as I dug my fingernails into my bed covers. I glanced wildly around.

_What just happened?_ I thought, trembling. _Did I just vision the future?_


	2. School Life

**This next chapter expresses more of the pain Luke feels at his school, life, and after his dream. Enjoy!**

For the next couple days I tried to stay out of trouble and visions. I banned myself from watching TV at night, unless it was movies with my mother.

I had no clue what had happened and if my dream would come true. I don't know about you, but I did not want to face that ugly monster. I just prayed to the gods every night that the dream would not come true, for fear of danger.

I did not bother telling my mother about the dream, for she had been through enough trouble in the last couple of days with her job. She did not talk about it, but I knew something was wrong, and I did not want to bother her with my problems.

After a week, I was happy to announce that I had not had any scary dreams and that the voice in my head did not appear and speak.

On the other hand, I was not happy to announce (who is) that my summer vacation had come to an end and I was starting my first day of 4th grade. I...was not...excited. At all.

My mother was excited enough for both of us. She was all into picking out dorky looking outfits for me to wear to school.

So I went to school looking like a geeky idiot.

My teacher, Mr. William though my look was (what did he call it?) '...Superlative'.

But I heard snickers from the class room at the mentioned of my clothes.

I spun around to see a buff looking kid in the front row with beady green eyes. He had jet black hair and a round nose.

"Ha ha, Luke looks like a girl!" He crowed. I wanted to beat him up, I really did, but my teacher laid his hand on my shoulder.

"Luke, anger does not gain you anything," he said. "Anger only leads to resentment, and resentment leads to suffering. Leave him be."

I stared at him. My mother had said that before! Maybe it was from some book they had both read and quoted from.

So I obeyed my teacher, and the boy called me a teacher's pet when I walked past him. We all had to wear stupid _'hello my name is'_ tags and his said _'Hank, the ruler of the class room.'_

_Just wait until we are alone Hank,_ I thought to myself.

Hank and his three friends Billy, Cody, and Jon constantly bothered me with rude remarks and crude jokes.

I ignored the pain of being laughed at and being called an idiot when I made a mistake or fumbled in my answers to Mr. Williams.

The pain of being teased and hated by all swelled, and I could barely take it most of the time. Putting on a phony smile for my mother was easy to do, because she fell for things like that.

To make matter MUCH worse, the voice in my head returned later, telling me to do the opposite of what Mr. William told me to do.

_Hate is everything Luke, _he said. _It will let you go far...it will make you powerful..._

I was inclined to listen to the voice at times, but Mr. William's face and words always popped into my head, blocking the voice.

But the voice was persistent.

The voice then consumed my mind with comments on every situation that I faced, like talk fights with Hank and his friends.

My mother did not like me fighting with fists. _Only for self defense_, she said. _Attacking someone, even your enemy, is not right._

Hank called me a sissy for never fighting him. One day he hit me at lunch for no reason, he probably just needed a fight, and I said calmly, "I will not fight you Hank. Only for self defense of others, would I fight you."

But the voice had other thoughts, and hit me in my soft spots.

_Who is to blame for all your pain?_ He asked. _Who is to blame for never answering your prayers?_

Then one day, his comments got me into serious trouble.

I was just leaving English class, for once feeling proud of myself because I had gotten an A on my test when up strolled Hank and his friends. But surprisingly, they were not heading for me. They walked right past me, and up to a girl who was putting her books into her locker.

"Hey, Dolly," Hank said teasingly stopping beside her. He had his I'm-so gonna-beat-you-up look on his face.

I strained to hear little Dolly's reply. She was a small girl, with auburn hair, and blue eyes, and a small voice. She certainly did not look like she could talk the boys away, or fight them away.

"Do you have any lunch money?" Hank asked, his voice growling in his throat.

Little Dolly shook her head so hard her hair blew in her face. "No, Hank, sir, I don't."

"Then how are you gonna get lunch?" Billy asked, his eyes gazing hard on the small girl.

Dolly whimpered. "I-I dunno," she said, her voice trembling. "I- I'm sure there is some lunch money in-in someone else's l-locker."

"Dolly, are you going to give us the money, or do we need to take it by force?" Buffy Hank asked, his voice threatening.

Dolly shrank back. "N-no sir, I won't give you the m-money. You will have to beat me up and go to the principal's office," she said softly.

I was impressed by the girl's courage, but I knew Hank would beat her up and make some lame excuse at the principal's office.

I walked over just as Hank slapped the girl in the face. "You!" he cried. "Give me the money!"

Dolly fell onto the ground, her lip starting to bleed. She glanced up at me with frightful eyes.

"L-Luke," she whispered.

"Leave her alone, Hank. Get lost," I said, trying to make my voice strong.

Hank laughed rudely. "Oh it's on Luke."

What will happen to Luke? Luke mentioned the voice, what does the voice say? What will Luke do to Hank?

Find out next chapter!


	3. Expelled

I glared at Hank. "We don't need to fight, Hank," I said. "Why do you need the lunch money? It's not like you are going to spend it on lunch."

"Actually I was," Hank snarled.

"Yeah he was!" Billy cried.

"Yeah! Was!" Cody nodded.

Dolly stomped her foot. "Just leave us alone Hank," she said softly.

I felt like taunting, so I said," Hank is just to scared to take it by force, Dolly. A small slap is all he will give." I pretend to laughs hysterically.

Hank's face grew as red as a red beet. He lunged forward and punched me on my jaw.

"L-Luke!" Dolly cried.

I tasted blood in my mouth, and I was going to stand up and tell the principal, but then the voice came into my head. Do it Luke. Nobody is going to know, besides you, Hank and Dolly. Fight Hank and show him your power that was bestowed to you.

I don't have any power, I croaked. I'm...me.

Ah, but you is enough Luke. You are a son of a god.

I paused. I'm a son of a...god? My mother is not a god...and neither is my father...

_Do you really want to know why your father is not around?_ The voice asked.

I wanted to scream at the voice to shut up, but I couldn't'. My voice was sealed shut.

_Your father fears you; he fears your destiny..._

_Stop! Knock it off!_ I screamed in my mind. _I hate you! GO AWAY!_

_Luke, use your power you know you have. Teach Hank a lesson he will never forget._

I could feel blood trickling down my jaw. Hank smiled triumphantly at me.

"I'll take your money Dolly," he said, holding his hand out. "Unless you want more trouble, that is."

Dolly stood up shakily. "O-okay, you can have it Hank," she said, locking gazes with me. Her eyes were so wide; I thought they would pop out of her head.

Hank threw me an I-win look.

_Listen to me, Luke, concentrate. Breathe, and disappear like I know you can._

_But I can't sir._

_Oh grief! Of course you can, Luke. Like I said; breathe slowly. Then disappear, and punch Hank one spot, then repeat, only hit the opponent in another area._

I breathed slowly, and then I disappeared. I was so surprised I could disappear, that I did not notice when I teleported myself behind Hank.

Hank's big jaw dropped at the sight of me, but I did not give him a second to recuperate. Instantly, I was on him again, hitting him on another spot.

"Luke! How-" Dolly's eyes lit up.

But the problem was, once the voice's command took a hold of me, I could not stop hitting Hank.

I pinned him on the ground, head butting him as the principal came with Billy behind him, giving me a huge buck toothy smile.

"What is going on here Luke?" The principal asked, glaring at me.

I stared back at the principal, my vision clearing. I stared down at Hank. _What had I done?_

Hank's face was bloodied from my rampage.

Dolly was staring at me horrorstricken. "L-Luke, what did you do to him?"

Long story short, I was taken to the principal, who forced me to tell the whole story with Dolly beside me to act as a witness. Billy and Cody were there who buttered the story up, and made me and Dolly look bad.

I wanted to shout and yell at the teacher to listen to Dolly and me, or at least watch the school cameras instead of listening to these bullies.

They said that Dolly and I stole HANK's school money, and he only hit Dolly to try to get her to give it to him.

Dooly and I were bailed out, as usual.

Hank had been sent to the hospital to get stitches on his face where I had hit him. Part of me felt bad for what I had done to him, but the other half felt smug. He was only getting what he deserved. Trying to steal and he thought I would let him get away with it? No way dude.

Heh, heh.

After hearing the whole story, my principal (could have been worse) kicked me out of the school for hurting an innocent kid.

I was immediately kicked out, and I walked home, hurt, bruised, and lost.

"Mother! I'm home!" I called. No answer.

Maybe my Mother was sleeping. I was not excited (who is) to tell my mother that I was expelled from my school. I looked into the kitchen, but she was not there.

..."Mom...?" I called.

I walked up the stairs, and looked into my mother's room.

There she was! She was sitting on her bed, knitting. But what freaked me out and made me look twice were her eyes.

Her eyes were a hazy green color. Her eyes were almost white, not GREEN! She was mouthing out something, as if in a trance.

I walked over to her. "Mom, are you okay?" I asked.

My mother did not look at me. "Mom?" I whispered, bending on a knee to look at her face.

"Mom?" Suddenly my mother's arms lashed out and grabbed my arms.

"My son," she whispered. "Terrible! Oh what a terrible fate!"

I tried to get away from her grasp, but it was no use. Her hold was too tight.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my body starting to tremble.

"Son...what a horrible fate!"

I gawked at my mother. Was she talking about me?

My mother's nails began to tear my arm and my arm began to bleed.

"Mother! You are hurting me!" I cried.

"My son!" My mother cried.

I struggled free. "What is your problem, mother?" I cried.

**What happened to Luke's mother? Why is she acting like this? What will Luke do? Find out next chapter!**


	4. The Fear and Lies

**This chapter has a small reveiw from the previous chapter, but it goes on to explain how much Luke's life is changing**.

I walked up the stairs, and looked into my mother's room.

There she was! She was sitting on her bed, knitting. But what freaked me out and made me look twice were her eyes.

Her eyes were a hazy green color. Her eyes were almost white, not GREEN! She was mouthing out something, as if in a trance.

I walked over to her. "Mom, are you okay?" I asked.

My mother did not look at me. "Mom?" I whispered, bending on a knee to look at her face.

"Mom?" Suddenly my mother's arms lashed out and grabbed my arms.

"My son," she whispered. "Terrible! Oh what a terrible fate!"

I tried to get away from her grasp, but it was no use. Her hold was too tight.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my body starting to tremble.

"Son...what a horrible fate!"

I gawked at my mother. Was she talking about me?

My mother's nails began to tear my arm and my arm began to bleed.

"Mother! You are hurting me!" I cried.

"My son!" My mother cried.

I struggled free. "What is your problem, mother?" I cried.

My mother was still spitting out fluff words and nonsense.

I raced towards the telephone and dialed 911.

"Help! My mother has gone crazy!" I cried.

"My son..." my mother groaned, falling back on the bed.

_Put the phone down Luke,_ said the voice in my head.

Instinctively, I hung up the phone.

_No!_ I had to save my mother! I picked up the phone and began to dial the number again.

_Luke! Put the phone down. Your mother is okay. Take a look for yourself. She has recovered from her fit._

I walked cautiously over to my mother.

"Mom?" I squeaked. "Are you okay?"

My mother sat up on her bed, her eyes clear.

"Oh Luke," she sighed. "You are safe."

I found a sudden interest in my shoes. "Not entirely," I muttered.

She tipped her head to the side. "How come?"

I quickly explained to her the situation at school. "I'm so sorry Mother," I cried. "Please forgive me!"

My mother looked startled, but she did not look to angry at me. In fact, she looked scared of me.

"Very well, then. I'll just have to find you a new school," she said.

I nodded, my body still trembling. I still had not recovered from the shock I had from my mother's shock. (That's what I was going to call it I guess...)

I sat on my bed that night, trying to get over my mother's fit. Why hadn't I seen that before? For once, the voice did not have a comment on the subject.

I glanced around. Perhaps my mother had had some Happy Juice or something. I only knew that I never wanted to see that ever again. But unfortunately, I did.

For the next couple weeks, my mother had her...fits. Constantly. It scared me to the utmost.

I used to hide in my closet it hurt so much. It only got worse. My mother began to place stuffed animals in our front yard. She said it was to protect us from monsters. I was confused and scared because my dream could come true with or without the stuffed animal protection.

My mother then began to hang pictures of some guy on our counter on top of the sink. When I asked who it was, my mother looked at me as if she did not know who I was.

"Oh, I told them he will return," she said. "I just knew it."

"Who is he?" I repeated.

"Hermes," my mother crooned at the picture. "You were always such the greatest man in my life. We could have had a good life, I say but they say that you would have abandoned me."

I gasped. The man was Hermes? Pushing my mother gently away, I looked at the man. He was a middle-aged man with an athletic figure-slim and fit with salt-and-pepper hair, elfish features, and a sly grin.

When my mother was not looking, I grabbed the picture and ran up to my bedroom.

_Luke,_ The voice said. _He is the one. The one you must destroy. He and his kin are the reason your mother is like this._

My eyes still on the picture, I asked, _What? What did my father do to my mother? Did HE make her go crazy?_

_No. Your mother could see through the Mist..._

_Mist?_

_...The Mist is an illusion. It makes mortals see what they want to see, and not what is really there. Your mother could see what was really happening._

_Can't I see what is happening? My mother is going CRAZY!_ I stomped my foot so hard, I stubbed it on my bed corner. Ouch...

_You can see what is really happening Luke, but the point is, your mother could see the monsters and Greek gods, even though mortals should not see them._

I glanced up, interested.

_ Most mortals, who have this ability, can become an Oracle, which can predict futures for young demigods. The problem was, you were just born to Hermes, your father of course, and your mother._

_My father...is a god...? What's wrong with that? Am I a problem?_

_Not at all, but to your mother's becoming an Oracle it was. Mortals with those kinds of ties to the world could not become the Oracle. Plus, there was already an Oracle, which was curse by Hades...long story... won't get into that today...anyway, your mother tried to become an Oracle. Your father forced her to do it, Luke. He is the one to blame for your mother's illness._

_What do you mean?_

_Your father was the one who asked your mother to become an Oracle. He did not care if she would be hurt; he only cared about his family, his true family, the gods, and their well being. Your mother went into the Attic, and she saw your fate which made her go nuts. She used to take medication, but as of the last few weeks, the medications did not help. Your mother's illness was your father's doing. HE is to blame, Luke._

_...I HATE the gods. They MUST be DESTROYED!._

_**Now that Luke knows the truth, what will happen to him now? The Evil voice Kronos is feeding him lies on a stick, and the gods only know what will happen to him. Thanks for reading and please comment!**_


	5. The Plan

_My fingers are hurting as I type this up. I have received emails from my friends that I do not update enough...I try my best! ^^_

_Keep reading,_

**_ Spottedtail

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_**

For the next couple of days, I tried to stay away from my mother as much as possible. Her eyes scared me too much. The day that would force me to run away was very soon to come, though I did not know it at the time.

It was a Saturday, and I just came home from playing football in the park with a friend of mine.

My mother was listening to the radio, and I instantly knew something was wrong. My mother's eyes were green once more. Before I could run for my closet my mother turned sharply towards me.

"My son," she crooned.

"No," I whispered, backing towards the steps.

My mother grabbed me by my arms and screamed, "My son, terrible, terrible FATE!"

I tried to push myself away from my mother's grasp. "Stop!" I screamed.

I used my knee to gently kick my mother away from me. She landed on the sofa. Her eyes turned their normal white color and sighed. "You are safe," she said softly, smiling at me.

I backed away. "Mom..."

"Your lunch! I almost forget to make you lunch!" my mother gasped, racing towards the kitchen. I almost went after her to make sure she was okay, but I thought better of it. Those eyes...I shuddered.

I trembled, and walked up the stairs, as if in a dream of thoughts.

I knew I could not take it anymore! My mother had gone crazy, and she was scaring me to death. What is she killed me, not even knowing it?

Any day she could find me in the closet, and then that would be it. I would have no place to hide.

This thought brought great fear to my mind as I thought about my possible death. Then I had an idea. I would run away.

My life was always messed up by my parents, and since I was a son of a god, I could find him and destroy him and his family.

He had never had the guts to come and meet me, and he never had the guts to help my mom. It was His fault she was like this, and he was the one who should be suffering, not me. He should be the one paying for his sin, not my mother and I.

I nodded to myself. Of course it would not be easy. I would have to steal and provide for myself, which would be new to me. My mother had always cared for me. I would have to have a form of shelter. It would have to be hidden, so nobody could find me. I was packing as I pondered all my new situations.

I stuffed my jeans in my backpack as I thought, what about my mother when she is not crazy? She would miss me.

_No Luke,_ said the voice. _Do not hold on to bonds. They only make you weak. Do not deny your destiny._

_...What is my destiny Crooked one?_

_Your destiny Luke is far too complicated to explain, only that you shall be the one to end the gods and create a new world. _

_Oh...I have to kill immortal gods?_

_Gah! It's not that hard! _

I never heard the voice sound exasperated. The thought of me annoying him made me smile. I finished packing and went to the cellar.

My mother kept food there, so I thought I could steal some food for my journey. I grabbed a few things of canned food and went up the stairs. My mother was in the kitchen humming to herself. I tried to sneak out but she heard me of course when I opened the front door.

"Luke? I have your lunch ready!" she called.

I frowned. "I'll be back in a sec! I promise I'll be home for lunch!"

I regretted my life as soon as it came outta my mouth. I would not be back...at all. But it could not be helped, at least until I found my father.

I went out the front door, ready for my new life.


	6. The Goddess of Wisdom

_Yay! You all are probably cheering that Luke has ditched his life in the home front and is getting ready to meet the witty and feisty Thalia. _

_I have received complaints from my friends that there is no romance in my stories, so maybe I can add a little love in the story with Thalia._

_Thanks for reading and please do comment! I do always read comments!_

**_Spottedtail

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_**

**Day One:**

I was full of life, and I was happy to be free. The voice did not bother me the whole day, and I was fine with just walking through the streets. Most people did not notice me, and I did not make any reason for them to notice me.

* * *

**Day Two:**

Not much change at all. I did not sleep very well last night only because it was my first time sleeping outdoors. I had built a shelter in the woods and I loved the sound of the crickets chirping and the stars shining over top of my head.

* * *

**Day Three:**

Alright! I'll admit it! I miss my mother tons. I enjoyed all the freedom of being on my own, and I did not miss her scary eyes glinting at me, but I missed just normal her. Her hugs before bed, her chocolate chip cookies,(I realized this when I passed a bakery) and her smile.

* * *

**Day Four:**

My life is getting lonely. The voice that used to talk to me has left me alone, and I realize that I'm without a friend in the world.

* * *

**Day Five:**

I have gotten by 5 days already? Are you serious? Wow...

I am really lonely now, and I long for someone to talk to.

And I did not know it, but I got my wish for a friend, a couple days later when the first monster attacked.

* * *

**Day Ten:**

I was walking down the streets as usual. A soft breeze touched my skin and I felt lost. Typical.

I was beginning to feel dirty, I really needed a shower.

So I went back to my forest shelter, and I jumped in the lake. I had forgotten shampoo, but that was alright.

I washed myself, and then walked back towards the street. I was ready to find some food to eat.

I had learned the hard way that when running away, you need to pack a lot of food; otherwise...you'll run out. So, since I had no money, I had to steal the food I ate. It was wrong, I know, but I had to survive.

I walked down towards a bakery that I had passed so many times before. Sweet smells rolled from the door.

I pressed my face up against the window and saw things that made my mouth water.

Doughnuts! Cinnamon rolls! Muffins!

I opened the door, hunger nagging at my stomach.

"Can I help you, sir?" a grey-eyed woman asked, who was putting fresh baked bread loaves on a rack.

I hoped slobber wasn't dripping out of my mouth when I replied, "No, I was just looking for my mother."

I stuffed my hands down my pockets and I casually walked down the aisle, as if I was really looking for my mother. Once I reached the rolls, I made sure nobody was looking, and I stuffed the rolls down my shirt.

"Stealing food, no matter how poor you are is wrong," said a voice beside of me.

I jumped, startled. I accidently dropped two rolls on the ground.

I turned around to see the female clerk that welcomed me to the store. She did not look angry, but she did have some sort of emotion in her gray eyes, but I could not sense what it was. "I-I'm sorry," I sputtered. "It's just that...I'm so hungry..."

The clerk laid a hand on my shoulder. "You are no fool, Luke. You know the difference between right and wrong." She held up two fingers as she spoke, her eyes twinkling. "But stealing altogether is wrong."

I hung my head. "I know."

"So why don't I help you out a bit?" The lady reached into her pockets and laid a roll of cash in my hands.

I stared, stunned. This lady was going to help...me? ME?

"Thank you," I whispered, "But how do you know my name? Are we related?"

The woman chuckled softly. "That would be telling, wouldn't it?" I laughed along with her, my mood beginning to lift.

The woman sighed as she rested her arm on a rack. "Luke, the vengeance you seek will not do you any good in the end. To understand one's pain, one must feel or experience the same pain. The gods you wish to kill do not get along,(I thought I saw a hint of annoyance in her eyes as she said this) but they have had a great amount of pain in their years. They do care for their children, it just...they are sometimes too busy to claim them."

How did this lady know what I was planning to do?

"Who are you?" I whispered.

The woman chuckled again. "I said that would be telling."

I bit my lip as the woman said, "Oh Luke, your father loves you. It just might not seem like it because he rarely comes to see your mother, and he has never seen you as far as you can remember." She paused. "But it is for the best, Luke."

I knew this was bratty, but I stomped my foot. "Why is not seeing me the best choice my Dad could make?"

"Luke, there are many things you do not yet understand, but you will in the end." The woman leaned forward and planted a small kiss on my forehead, a sign of a blessing.

"I pray you will make the right choice, Luke, no matter how much pain befalls you." I stared, speechless.

The woman's eyes lightened. "And to answer your question, only because I cannot stand unanswered questions, I am Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare. Please take heed to all my words I have spoken."

With that, the goddess vanished. I stood there holding the roll of cash in my hands, frozen for awhile.

I had spoken to a goddess! Lucky me! Heh heh

But why did she keep mentioning my father? Did he really...love me? Or was he just a big buffoon?

I pulled myself together and then I went to pay for my purchase. My gratitude swelled as I handed the cash to the clerk.

Then I left the store, munching on my yummy meal. I was on my way to my forest shelter when I realized something was wrong. Just the air I breathed...it felt foul.

An unwanted person was near. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and began walking once more, a feeling of unease settling inside my stomach.

Suddenly, I heard a twig break in half behind me. My brow was thick with sweat when I turned around. What I saw made me gasp in pure terror!


	7. Thalia Grace

_Sorry for not updating. I have been busy, but I will try to update as much as I can. ^_^_

_Thanks for reading!_

_Spottedtail

* * *

_

I left the store, munching on my yummy meal. I was on my way to my forest shelter when I realized something was wrong. Just the air I breathed...it felt foul.

An unwanted person was near. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and began walking once more, a feeling of unease settling inside my stomach.

Suddenly, I heard a twig break in half behind me. My brow was thick with sweat when I turned around. What I saw made me gasp in pure terror.

It was a huge one eyed Cyclops that was at least twice eth size of me, who was carrying a huge club. I gulped. I couldn't outrun it, and I couldn't hide because the monster had already sensed that I was there.

"Nice monster," I stammered, picking up a twig with a pointed end. Horrible weapon.

The monster roared as loud as a bus jumping a curve. I swallowed hard and threw my stick at his eye. It missed of course, and the monster picked me up. His hand was so big I could fit in the palm of his hand.

"Little Demigod for lunch!" the monster roared. "Yummy!"

"Uh...No I'm gamey, you don't want to eat me," I squeaked, trying to break free. But the monster's grip on me was too tight. The monster raised me toward his mouth. He was just about to drop me in his mouth when a rock hit the Cyclops straight in the eye.

The good news: I was free.

The bad news: The Cyclops dropped me face first on the ground. When I looked up I had to blink twice and make sure I was not seeing things.

Standing before me was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in all the nine years of my life. She looked to be about eight years old. She had black spiky hair and dashing blue eyes.

"Move!" she ordered me, extending her hand to me.

Stunned, I took her hand and stood up. With her other hand, the girl held a spear that was almost the size of her, and a shield.

"Get back!" she growled, pushing me behind her.

I obeyed...instantly.

The girl charged at the monster and shook her booty at it. "Nah Nah! Come on and get me, monster! You big flabby Cyclops! "

I guess the Cyclops did not like being referred to as 'flabby.' The Cyclops charged at the booty-shaking girl. But the girl was quick.

She skillfully stabbed his shin with her spear. "Be gone!" she hissed, snapping her fingers. I swear, I could see electric coming out of her fingertips.

I did not have a clue why then, but the Cyclops obeyed her. He raced away as fast as he could.

"Why'd he run?" I asked as the girl hooked her spear to her belt.

She smiled. "My father is Zeus, the god of the sky. I have power over lightning and electric."

"Your father is Zeus?" I gasped.

The girl nodded, though I noticed that she did not look to proud of it. Shivering, she turned to face me. "Are you lost?"

I shook my head. "No, I live here. In the forest, I mean. I...I ran away from home."

The girl's eyes instantly went down to my pockets, and I realized what she was looking at. She was staring at my food that I bought. It was bulging out of my pockets. She must have been really hungry because she looked really skinny.

"Do you want some?" I offered.

The girl nodded shyly. I handed her a piece and she gulped down all that I gave her. "I ran away too," she said between gulps of food. She looked up. "Why did you run away?"

I hesitated, thinking up a lie (who was gonna tell someone that their mother had supernatural fits?) to tell her, but then she cut me off. "Are you a demigod by any chance?"

"Demigod...what does that mean?" I realized that the monster had called me a demigod as well.

"A Demigod means that you have a mortal parent, and then you also have a godly parent. I'm a demigod too." She pointed to herself, and she did not look proud of it. I nodded. "Yes, my father is a god."

"Which one?"

"Dunno."

She licked her lips, finishing off the food I had given her. She smiled at me. "What's your name?" she asked. "Luke, my name is Luke. Luke Castellan."

I tried hard not to tear up at the sound of my mother's last name. "What's yours?" I asked.

The girl gave me a coy grin. "I'm Thalia. Thalia Grace."


	8. Thalia's Past

_Sorry for not updating. I have been busy, but I will try to update as much as I can. ^_^_

_Thanks for reading!_

_Spottedtail

* * *

_

I invited Thalia to stay the night in my shelter because it had started to rain. Thalia took my offer, and I was glad. I owed her my life. Otherwise, I had been in a monsters' mouth right now. Not fun.

We split up the rest of the food while I shared my past with Thalia. She listened intently, her eyes never leaving my face. I also mentioned that my mother knew tons on Greek Myths, and she never hesitated to share them with me.

Thalia nodded. "So that's how you knew so much about Greek Myths and monsters," she said, smiling warmly.

Then I mentioned my mother's fits, and told her that was the reason I ran away. Her smile disappeared. "So your mother had fits...eh?" she asked dully.

I nodded. "Yeah...she always ranted about my fate." I paused. "Don't tell anyone I told you this."

Thalia gave me a solemn look. "Oh I won't, trust me," she said. I took one of the last pieces of the baked goods.

"So what is the story of your past?" I asked.

Thalia looked away. "It's pretty similar to yours," she said. "Except my mother did not chant about my fate, at least I do not think so."

She paused to take a bite of her muffin. "My mother was a famous actress. She was well known for her parts in love movies."

She paused to wipe her eyes because tears had started to form. "But my mother was an alcoholic. She was huge into drinking. Every time she would come home from sets, she would be half drunk. I almost had to look after myself since I was so little."

I started to speak, but she cut me off. "My mother got so drunk at times, she could not drive."

She took a deep shaky breath, her tears flowing freely now.

"That's how she died."

I gasped as she continued," One night she was driving home and collided with a truck. My mother died, and I was to be sent to a foster home."

"Oh Thalia, I'm so sorry!" I cried.

Thalia held up her hand. "But I ran away before they could take in a foster home. I have lived on my own since."

She gave me a small smile. "That is, before I met you."

She wiped away her tears as she roughly said, "You were my first friend. Everyone I had met had either wanted to take me to a foster home, or they were monsters that were always trying to attack me."

She hung her head. I wanted to say something to comfort her, but I was speechless. I pitied her so much. My mother had been crazy, but not all the time like Thalia's.

I wrapped my arm around her and tried my best to comfort her.

"It's okay now, Thalia. We can travel together, just me and you."

Thalia looked up at me, her eyes glistening from her tears.

"Really?" she coughed.

I nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't your mother's entire fault you know, Thalia. Your godly parent is to blame. If he had been around, then he would not have let your mother drink, and if my father was around, my mother would not have acted that way."

Thalia glanced out of the shelter entrance. "You think the gods are watching over us?" she asked.

"If they cared about us, they would be," I muttered.

Thalia smacked her hands together. "Then...if they are always watching... why didn't my father take the liberty to help me with the monsters I faced?" I shrugged. He does not care! I wanted to scream, but I said nothing.

Thalia turned her head slightly and murmured, "I mean...I found my weapons in my closet the night I ran away...but I don't think he helped me out in anyway."

"Your father doesn't care. He's too busy for you, for us."

Thalia stood up and raced out the door of the shelter. Her hair began to grow wet from the dripping rain. "You stupid gods! I hate you!" she screamed. "You never were there for me when I was scared! You were never there for me when I need you most!" She stuck out her tongue at the sky. "You will pay for what you have done!"

I stared at her raged face, and depression sank into my skin. She was so young, so innocent, but she had already been through so much, thanks to the gods.

_The gods must be destroyed Luke. It is for your own sake of revenge. _

_Oh drat, I thought you were out of my mind forever. _

_Nope!_ The voice said cheerfully.

I blocked the voice out of my head for at least a couple minutes to go out to stare up at the rain filled sky with Thalia.

"You sorry excuse for gods!" Thalia screamed. "A god is supposed to protect, not leave people hurt!"

I glanced at Thalia's tear stained face. "We will find you and end you!" I screamed.

_A father is supposed to be there for his child, not leave him in the ashes, _the voice continued.

I guess I could not leave him out of my head for too long.

"Me too!" Thalia crowed.

We glanced at each other. "Let's get some sleep, monster fighter," I said. "We have work to do tomorrow."

Thalia nodded solemnly. "What kind of work?" she asked.

"Trying to survive is work, if you know what I mean," I called over my shoulder. Thalia laughed and followed me into the shelter for a good night's sleep, at least for her, because my sleep was anything but.

I found myself running as hard as I could up a steep slope in my dream. My breathing was ragged and breathless. I was with two companions, one face was hidden, and the other I knew to be Thalia. They were running beside me. Their breath was silent, compared to mine. I raced up the top of the slope and stopped. Thalia and the other person stopped as well.

"Have they caught us?" asked Thalia, panting hard.

"Not yet," the other companion replied.

"We better hurry, before they do. Come on Annabeth," Thalia said.

I glanced at them, confused. _What was I doing here?_ I wondered thoughtfully. I had no clue what was going on.

"Where are we?" I asked.

Thalia looked like I was going crazy. "We are in Westport, your hometown!"

I glanced doubtfully at the two girls. _I **am **going insane,_ I thought. _I was back at the shelter with Thalia!_ I looked over at the other person. Who was she?

"Oh no, they have caught us!" Thalia yelled.

Suddenly, I was face to face with a horrible looking creature. It was tall with monstrous looking teeth, and a scaly body.

"Luke! Do something!" the other companion yelled. I raced up to confront the monster, but it was no use. With one swipe of the monster's hand, it flung me across the slope until I hit my back on a hard rock, and I knew no more. I only saw Thalia's terrified face as she raced up to me, then everything went black.

The next day, Thalia and I packed our small amount of things. We were getting ready to head to our next shelter. Thalia was waiting for me at the edge of the shelter. Her wild blue eyes shone with a purpose. One purpose. And that was to survive to meet her father.

"Are you ready?" Thalia asked. I nodded, though my head was still spinning from my nightmare.

"Are you okay, Luke? You look like you did not sleep at all last night," Thalia said, looking concerned.

I cleared my throat. "I-I'm fine," I said. "Let's go."


	9. The Furies

We decided the best thing to do was to try to survive somehow. And for a few years we did.

I soon found out that Thalia did not have any money, and I knew I didn't. I had used up all my money that Athena had given to me.

So we decided that we would have to steal whatever we needed. That turned out to be everything.

We were constantly stealing, and more and more monsters attacked us by the day, so we constantly needed medicine to help heal us.

Thalia was not prone to stealing at first, so I usually stole while she made shelters for us. Thalia and I made a pretty good team, I had to admit, we were both strong, and we were both cunning, which was needed for living in on your own. But the hardest thing in life was accepting that there was nobody to care, protect, and love you but each other. But when Thalia and I thought negative, the other would say to think positive. Thalia often said that the stars watched us, but I would only reply that they were probably laughing at us and all our troubles. So much for thinking positive thoughts.

But I wished that somehow, someway, someone would come along, someone who would save us in the end. And I got my wish (even though I did not know it at the time) when Thalia and I were on the run. *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

You're probably thinking, what else is new? You steal, you wanted. Hence, you are on the run. But today was different because we weren't chased by police or insane mortals. We were chased by a monster. No _monsters_.

And they were the worse monsters of all, the demons of the Underworld. Thalia had told me that they were called Furies. And they had been after her since she was little. When I didn't understand, because I had not been attacked by monsters when I was little (maybe my mom was a monster...?), she explained that her mother had told her one time when she was drunk that her father was a very powerful man, and an evil man was always trying to kill his children. Thalia would shrug it off, or say it wasn't fun being the child of a powerful person, but I thought it was kinda cool. Though I had never thought about the Furies until the day we were attacked by them.

Here's what happened: Thalia and I were in Westport, close to my home, stealing some medicine from the pharmacy store. Thalia had a slight cold, and we did not have the medicine to help her.

Thalia had told me before that the Greek gods had some medicine that could help people like us, but she never gave its name away. And I never thought about asking. Thalia casually walked in the pharmacy and began talking to the cashier.

I moved down the aisles towards the snack foods. My mouth began to water at what I saw. Chips galore! M&MS! I was thrilled but saddened at the same time.

The reason I was sad was because I knew I would want to steal the food. I had to get out of the aisle before it took over me. I backed away and went out of the store to wait for Thalia. Thalia soon raced out of the store, her eyes wild. "Luke! We have to get out of here now!"

"Why?" I asked.

She quickly glanced inside of the store. "I think the cashier in there was a monster," she said softly.

I tensed. "Let's go. Did you get the medicine?"

Thalia nodded. "When the cashier turned her back I grabbed it and left. But Luke, when she turned around, I think I saw a fang. We have to go." I nodded nervously and we raced away from the store, glancing back once or twice.

We tried to blend in with the crowd in case the cashier tried to follow us. Thalia was pulling me by the arm, as if I wasn't going fast enough for her. "Please hurry Luke!" she cried.

"I'm hurrying!" I grumbled, following her. We raced across the street, and a car honked its horn angrily, as if we didn't see it coming. We were in too much of a hurry to really care.

"Do you know what monster it is?" I asked her as we stopped at a corner of an alley. Gasping for breath, Thalia answered," I may have a guess. It may be one of the Furies, Luke. They have been after me since I was born, you know." She gave me a nervous smile. Furies were dead against us...maybe.

Suddenly, three women came down the alley. I felt Thalia tense beside me. Her body was shivering. I took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled at me and I returned it.

"Come on," I whispered. "Let's go out and meet them." We rose and walked out to meet the women. I recognized the woman in the middle; she was the cashier at the pharmacy.

The other two women I did not recognize, but they resembled each other somehow. They all had the same piercing eyes, and they both had the same nose.

"It's them," Thalia whispered.

I drew my knife while Thalia drew her spear. The women did not make a move to attack us. For a moment I thought Thalia could have been wrong and that the women just wanted her to pay for the medicine, but I soon found out she was right.

The woman in the middle sneered. "Is that how you want to play?"

Thalia stepped forward, her spear glowing in the sunlight. "We don't want to fight you, we just want you to leave us alone," she growled.

"Which is not going to happen," I muttered. The two ladies beside the cashier sneered, and then I had my first surprise. The woman in the middle completely changed. Her skin turned ash gray and her eyes glowed red. Her teeth and fingernails turned to claws and fangs.


	10. Annabeth Chase

Thalia and I braced ourselves for the worst. When the other women saw the cashier change, they took it as a signal and they changed as well.

"Now we're ready to play," the hag in the middle sneered. I tried not to tremble. If Thalia was right about them being the most dangerous monsters since who knows when then we could be in a lot of trouble.

Then the hags charged and I got my next surprise. They could breathe fire through their mouths like dragons.

Thalia cringed beside me, and then raced at the Furies with her spear. I followed with my knife.

I would like to say that I was the heroic one and I jumped on a Fury's back and ended her...but I'd be lying. I did try to jump on a Fury's back, only to find that it was boiling hot. I felt like I was on fire.

"Luke!" Thalia cried. "Are you okay?"

I fell off the Fury's back and hit my back (hard by the way) on the ground. I yowled in pain. "I'm fine! I hope..."

Thalia was impressive as usual. She tackled two Furies at once, each move was flawless. With her dealing with those two, it only left me to deal with the cashier. The cashier Fury glared at me and charged, her talons glowing. I raised my knife and stuck it in her chest.

She screamed in agony and evaporated. I sighed in relief, while trying not to gag at the dust she left behind.

Thalia was still going strong with the other Furies, but I got up to help her. I felt huge waves of nausea but I didn't care. Thalia needed me. And I needed her.

I raced at the other Fury just as it cut and burned Thalia's arm. Thalia yowled in pain but managed to stab the one Fury's chest before she collapsed, clutching her arm.

I tackled the last Fury on its back and knocked it down. The Fury landed with a thump, but she did not evaporate.

"You think you're so great, don't you godling?" the Fury sneered.

I hesitated. Sure, people have insulted me before, but being insulted by a monster? No chance about it. I wouldn't answer to her. I struck out my hand, and she was history. Thalia groaned in pain beside me, and I limped over to her.

"T-They'll come back," she whispered.

I placed my hand on her cheek. Her face was burning up. The Furies might have done her a bit more damage than she was letting on, although she did look pained.

"You'll be okay," I told her, trying to stay positive. "For a twelve year old, you fight pretty well!"

Thalia laughed weakly. "Aye, and you for a fourteen year old...you fight like a wimp."

I chuckled, and helped her up. Thalia leaned against my shoulder and I led her out of the alley. Thalia groaned once in awhile and grabbed her arm in immense pain.

"What did you mean when you said that they would be back?" I asked her. "We killed them, they should be gone."

Thalia tightened her grip on my arm. "Monsters aren't like humans and demigods. Sure they can die, but they don't...'die.'"

"What do you mean?"

"They are sent to the darkest parts of hell where they reform. They then return to the world and go at it again and again. It drives us demigods crazy."

"Tell me about it," I grumbled, pausing to catch my breath, as Thalia was getting heavy on my shoulder.

Suddenly, a girl with a mop of blond hair burst into the alley. Her eyes were stormy gray, and her face looked terrified.

"Where are they?" she shrieked.

"Where are who?" Thalia asked.

"The stupid monsters! Where are they? They're all around me!" the girl rapidly glanced left to right then buried her face in her hands. Thalia glanced at me and mouthed out _Omg, she's cute!_

I walked over to Annabeth and placed my hand on her shoulder. When I touched her, she shirked and pulled herself away from me. "Stay away! The monsters are coming! They always come!"

I forced her to look at me in the face. It was hard too, because I had to pick her up while she was kicking and screaming. "No monsters are coming," I said firmly when I finally got her to calm down at look me in the eye.

The girl blinked. I thought I could see tears forming in her eyes. "R-really?"

I nodded. "Monsters are never going to hurt you again. Thalia and I are here. However, I think you might be able to protect yourself, as you seem like you would be a good fighter. What's your name?"

The girl bit her lip. "I'm Annabeth."

Before I knew it, I reached into my pocket and pulled my knife out. "Well, Annabeth. To protect yourself from monsters, how would you like to have a knife?"

Annabeth's eyes suddenly had a glow in them. "Really?"

"Knives are only for the cleverest fighters. You look pretty clever to me. How old are you?"

"Seven."

Thalia glanced at me, concerned. "Where are your parents?" she asked sweetly.

"They don't care about me...I ran away."

I glanced at Thalia. _Let's take her in_, I mouthed out. Thalia nodded.

"Thalia and I have a place where we live. We ran away from our families too. You could come and stay with us if you want Annabeth."

Annabeth grinned, and I realized just how cute she was. "Sure!" Lowering her voice, she asked," You two won't treat me how my family treated me will you?"

I firmly shook my head. "No, Thalia and I are your family now. I'll never fail you the way your family did."


	11. Annabeth's Past

Annabeth proved to be very cooperative. She went back to Thalia and mine's shelter, where we treated Thalia's wound. Thalia would groan and cough but she did not scream, as we did not want to draw attention to ourselves.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Annabeth asked, fear in her voice.

I gave her a smile. "She'll be fine."

"Those stupid monsters got her, didn't they?"

I hesitated. The way Annabeth hated monsters; I was sure she would go out and avenge Thalia if she found out that a monster hurt her. But I couldn't lie to her.

"Yes, a monster hurt her."

Annabeth lowered her eyes. "I thought so."

I positioned myself so I was facing Annabeth while putting a poultice on Thalia's wounds.

"So what was your past like, Annabeth?" I asked, trying to take her mind off of monsters.

Annabeth gave a mean look. Fir a second I felt scared. Annabeth could be very scary if she tried to be. "My past is my own business," she snapped, turning away from me.

"Awe, but my past wasn't so pretty either," I said softly, putting fresh poultice on Thalia's wound.

Annabeth, still not looking at me, asked, "What was your past like?"

And so it began. I explained to her my past, leaving out some parts that may freak her out, or anger her.

Annabeth was close to tears by the time I had finished. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, Luke. You have had a rough past, and I should not have snapped at you. I'm just happy I can finally relate to someone, and that someone can relate to me. You are free to snap at me anytime. "

I laughed, and Annabeth looked surprised. "Why would I snap at you? You must have had a rough past too, if you don't want to tell me about it."

Annabeth sighed. "Yeah...I did."

I glanced at Thalia, who had fallen asleep. "Do you want to tell me about it?" I asked.

Annabeth took a deep shaky breath.

"My mother abandoned me at birth, so my dad said. He told me my mother had delivered me in a golden basket to my father's porch one night. As most would consider this a miracle, or something amazing, something you would want to take a picture of to always remember or cherish...my dad thought it was horrible. He considered it the most inconvenient thing that happened to him."

I started to say something, but she held up her small, chubby hand. She wanted to go on. "Yeah...he didn't love me. He didn't even try to find my mother and try to get back together with her. It was like he didn't care about what she might have wanted, or what I wanted. He only cared about himself. He got married again to some creepy lady."

She took a deep breath, as if she did not want to remember this person. "They announced that they were going to have twins a couple years after they were married. That pushed me off the edge. I had always hoped that my father would see common sense and go find my real mother, but if he and that..._freak of a stepmother_ had kids...there was no hope for him finding my true mother. And so my dad and I began fighting. It got so bad that a day never passed without a huge argument."

I just stared at Annabeth while she talked. Her poor little face looked like it was ready to go out and lynch somebody.

"Annabeth, it's okay. You didn't do anything."

"But you're wrong..." Annabeth looked away from me again. But I was able to catch the tears that started to form in her gray eyes.

"You didn't do anything...did you?"

"Luke...I'm a freak. For some reason, I attract monsters. They are always trying to attack me. That made my stepmother angry. She yelled at me every time a monster would attack me or my family. Whether we were at our house when they attacked or at a restaurant, she would scream and scream at me."

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry."

Annabeth shrugged. "They didn't care, and they probably didn't even care when I ran away."

I looked at her. "You're not the only one who feels this way. Thalia and I have been down the same road you have. That's why you belong with us."

"...I do?'

"Yes, you do."

Annabeth's eyes suddenly glowed with a huge ray of hope. "Thank you Luke."

I smiled. "No problem, Annabeth."

Thalia woke up a couple hours later and I told her the story of Annabeth while Annabeth slept soundly.

"Seven years old and she has already been through so much," Thalia sighed.

I nodded. "Those gods hurt every single one of us kids. It's a big-"

-"pain in the rear," Thalia finished with a painful groan.

"Is your arm okay?" I asked.

Thalia nodded. "My arm is just a bit sore."

I glanced over at Annabeth. "She is going to use my knife. I'll be needing a new weapon. Any ideas?"

Thalia glanced around our shelter. "I'm not sure, Luke. I guess we could raid a weapon shop."

I laughed. "We raid everything else. Why not a store?"

Thalia picked at her scab on her arm as she said, "Yeah, but we don't want to be in too much trouble with the law, you know?"

I hesitated, and then nodded. "I know."

Thalia encouraged me to go to sleep and try not to worry about much. _Feeding three won't be super hard, you'll see, _she had told me.

So I listened to her and curled up and went to sleep.


	12. The Voice Returns

_Luke...Luke..._

I sat up in my so-called bed, sweat dripping off my brow.

_Luke...Luke..._

_No_, I whispered. The voice was back.

_Hello again! How have you been?_

_Shut up, what do you want?_ I growled, glancing at the sleeping forms of Thalia and Annabeth.

_Nothing really..just you wanted so long ago to destroy the gods...whatever happened to that dream? Did it scare you away?_

_No..._

_Then what happened?_

_I have to take care of Thalia and Annabeth. They need me. _

_I think you need **them**...Luke._

_But you're wrong. Only I can truly understand myself. I am alone...forever. Demigods have to walk the path of loneliness, they just have to. _

The voice was silent for a second to grasp what I had just said, but then he spoke.

_The path of a demigod does not always have to be in the dark. I'm with you, and I will guide you to fulfill your destiny, which is to kill the gods of Olympus. _

**_Shut up!_**_ I have to take care of Thalia and Annabeth. _

_They have each other, Luke. You need to decide what you want the most. Your friends, or your revenge. _

I swallowed, and then glanced once more over at Thalia and Annabeth. Both were still asleep, and Annabeth was drooling on her sleep, muttering "_Cats_ fly like _birds_ and _dogs_ eat like _pigs_."

Thalia was facing me while she slept, and to me, she looked like a million dollars, even with her injured arm. Her face was formed in a half smile, like she was having a good dream.

I didn't know it, but my face was formed in a lovesick sort of way.

_Quit it! You look like a puppy! _The voice scolded me.

That snapped the look right off my face. _What?_

_Are you staying because they truly need you to protect the? Or are you staying because you feel alone and you need someone to care about you?_

_...They need me and I am destined to be alone. An avenger needs no friends. _

_But is that what you are? Are you truly an avenger? Or are you all talk? Avengers don't need to take care of anything except their duty on earth. What are you avenging?_

_I am avenging all the demigods who have ever died alone, all the demigods who have ever felt alone, and all the demigods who don't know anyone who cares about them. I feel this way, Thalia feels this way, Annabeth feels this way..., and it's the gods' fault. They need to be shown what pain they cause their kids._

_So you haven't forgotten all I have told you..._The voice soundedsurprised.

_No I haven't._

_...So are you going to stay with your friends or fulfill your destiny as the man who will make the gods suffer violently?_

_...I don't know. My friends need me now, but I want to fulfill my destiny too. Once I'm done protecting them, then I can fulfill my destiny or whatever. _

_And when is that? Tomorrow? A year from now? When? They'll become attached to you, Luke, and you to them. _

_I can still care about them while I fulfill my destiny. I just need to find a place where I can put them into stronger hands._

_Luke, you know that if you chose to stay with Thalia and Annabeth, you will never destroy the gods._

I looked over at Thalia and Annabeth once more. When the voice talked to me, I felt as if I were powerless and that I had to listen to him. But when he wasn't talking to me, I felt as if I were free. I couldn't leave Thalia and Annabeth. Not yet, anyway.

_Just be quiet and go away. I don't need you right now. You're wasting my time with an empty conversation. I told you a couple of times already. Thalia and Annabeth need me to protect them. As soon as they don't, then I'll start my quest of revenge._

_...As you wish, godling. But don't say I didn't warn you when you become attached to those two and you lose control of your love for them so that you can never fulfill your destiny. Oh, and just a little warning...you might want to get moving. Something is coming. Something big._

I then felt like the whole weight of the world was off of my shoulders. The voice was gone.

I shook Thalia and Annabeth, for we needed to get moving. I had no clue where we were going, but I knew we had to move.

As soon as I touched Thalia's shoulder she woke up. She blinked open her eyes.

"... What's going on Luke?" she asked drowsily.

"Nothing," I said gently.

Thalia sat up and rubbed her eyes. "It's not even dawn yet!" she whispered.

I shrugged. "So? Thalia, we have to get moving."

Thalia rolled over. "No," she sighed. "Not yet."

I crawled over to Annabeth. "Annabeth, wake up. We have to go."

Annabeth opened her eyes and yawned. "Why now? I wanna sleep more!"

Thalia frowned up at me. "Why did you wake us so early?" she asked.

I quickly explained to them the best I could that I had a feeling that we had to move. "I sense something's coming. And it's close."

Thalia glanced at Annabeth, who shrugged. "Okay. We'll get going if you have had a feeling."

I sighed with relief. So they weren't going to question my reason. We ate a quick breakfast of stuff from last night. Don't ask me what it was, because Thalia would not tell me.

After we ate, we packed our things and began to head out. Annabeth held tightly onto Thalia's hand and nervously glanced around.

"Why did you make us leave so early, Luke?" she asked. "If it was just a feeling...?"

I stopped walking to turn and face her. "I have a feeling something is coming. Demigods have that type of sense." I looked over at Thalia to confirm what I had just said.

Helping Annabeth over a log Thalia said, "Demigods can sense whether a place is safe or not. If it is, the demigods are tempted to stay. If not, the demigod feels that they need to go. Though this is not always the case."

Annabeth's eyes began to glow. "So it's like a super power?"

Thalia seemed to like Annabeth's enthusiasm. "Yes, kinda."

"That's cool!" Annabeth crowed, laughing.

Thalia laughed along with her. "Yes it is. It's very cool. Do you know what else demigods sense besides danger?"

"What?" Annabeth tipped her head to the side.

"They can sense when another demigod is about to tickle them!" Thalia screamed, starting to tickle Annabeth.

Annabeth rolled on the forest floor laughing. "Stop, Thalia, stop!" she cried.

I smiled. This was how normal families were supposed to act. They were supposed to love, care, with no strife, and anger whatsoever. Thalia was good to show Annabeth what fun was, and what love feels like.

"Luke, help!" Annabeth screamed in glee, bringing me back to the present.

Thalia laughed and stood up to put her hood over her head. "I'm the evil tickle monster, and I'm coming to get you, Annabeth!"

Annabeth stood up and raced around the log. "No, don't get me!" she cried, her face red from laughing. Thalia and Annabeth raced around the log over fifteen times (trust me, I counted) before Thalia caught Annabeth.

"Luke!" Annabeth shrieked in pure delight.

I soon threw myself into the tickle fight, forgetting the Voice's warning before it left my head. The tickle war was one that would go down in history as the best and roughest tickle war ever. When it finally ended, all three of our faces were red and our throats were sore from laughing so much.

"That was fun, Luke," Annabeth said, panting.

"It was," Thalia agreed.

I was about to reply when something growled behind us.

"Get up," I hissed. All three of us stood up. I turned around abruptly.

Thalia jumped beside me. "What is it?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. "What was that?" she whispered.

I didn't answer. I was too busy looking around, trying to locate where the growl had come from.

"Maybe we should go," Annabeth whispered. Thalia took Annabeth's hand. She looked at me and met my eyes.

_Run_, I mouthed out. _Give me your spear. I can fight them off, whoever they are._

_Might be the Furies,_ Thalia mouthed. I nodded and Thalia handed me her spear.

Annabeth's small face looked frightened. "Are you going to be okay, Luke?" she asked in a small voice.

I gave her the most confident smile I could manage. "I'm sure I'll be fine," I said.

Thalia grabbed Annabeth's hand and raced across the forest floor. Thalia turned around for a brief second to give me a _'don't die'_ look.

I bent down on my knee to try to figure out if there were any vibrations. I could hear Thalia and Annabeth's feet pounding on the ground. At least they were listening to me. heh

I was hoping the thing that growled was just my stomach, but I knew that it wasn't. Not after what the voice had told me.

_Oh, and just a little warning...you might want to get moving. Something is coming. Something big._

_Shut up._

I got up and began to run in Thalia and Annabeth's direction. Perhaps the growling thing was gone...maybe it was my stomach.

But it wasn't. As I ran in the direction of Thalia and Annabeth and I heard the growl again. It was closer and more menacing than before. I raced ahead at full speed. I couldn't let whatever it was get Thalia or Annabeth! I tore through the bushes when I saw something that made my heart stop.

Thalia was crouched on the ground, holding her knee. I cringed because there was tons of blood.

"Thalia, are you okay?" Annabeth was beside her with a frightened look on her face.

Thalia coughed. "I'm fine," she managed.

"What happened?" I gasped, racing towards them. Thalia and Annabeth both looked at me with bleak faces.

"The monster attacked us," Thalia gasped as she coughed up blood. "Not sure what it was, but it was pretty darn nasty."

"It had big teeth!" Annabeth burst out, expanding her hands to the size of the monster's teeth.

"We didn't have anything to fight with except for Annabeth's knife," Thalia continued. "As I gave you my weapon Annabeth and I had to fend for ourselves. We were able to evaporate the monster though."

I bent down to look at Thalia's knee. "We're all out of medicine," I began.

Thalia nodded. "I know."

Annabeth took hold of my hand. "Will Thalia be alright?"

"I'll be okay without medicine," Thalia said as she coughed up more blood which did not sound too convincing.

I hesitated. "Look, my mother's house isn't too far from here. I could take you there and get some medicine."

Thalia's eyes widened. "But Luke, I thought you had sworn that you would never go back to your mother' house..."

I shrugged. "I don't like to go back on my word, but I'll have to make an exception. Your face is really pale, Thalia. You need some medicine and bandages."

Thalia swallowed, and I got the feeling she didn't like this idea too much. "Okay."

Annabeth jumped up. "So we are going to see your mother?" she asked.

I nodded, helping Thalia up.

"Is she nice?" Annabeth pressed.

"...Kind of," I said uncomfortably.

"She is kind of nice?" Annabeth's lip quivered. "You told me about her, but you never mentioned if she was nice or not..."

Thalia groaned as I put her on top of my shoulders, so I found it was a good enough reason to ignore Annabeth.

"Come on, Annabeth. We're going," Thalia moaned, blood dripping from her mouth. I tried not to care as some of it fell onto my shoulder.

Annabeth stood up and took my arm. Together we headed for my mother's house.


	13. Hermes

I never thought that going to my mother's house would turn out like it did. But guess what? Nothing seems to go good for me. Annabeth asked questions all the way to my mother's house, totally annoying me. Thalia looked pained, and blood was still flowing from her leg and mouth.

Once we got to my mother's house, I turned and said very sternly to Annabeth, "You need to be careful and very good here, Annabeth. Do you hear me?"

I had never spoken sternly to Annabeth, so she nodded her head hard. "Yes, Luke."

"And you need to stick right beside Thalia, do you understand?"

"Yes, Luke."

Thalia groaned as I set her on the ground. Annabeth placed a comforting hand on Thalia's shoulder. Taking a very deep breath, I knocked on the door.

I tensed, expecting my mother to come out with her eyes glowing bright green but that didn't happen.

My mother answered the door with a very happy expression on her face. "Luke! My dear boy! You've come back! And my how have you grown! You have grown so big and handsome!"

She wrapped her arms around me in a sweet embrace. She smelled like chocolate chip cookies.

"Luke my dear baby, oh how I have missed you so!" My mother crooned, running her fingers through my hair.

_Jeez_, I thought annoyed.

I pulled away from her as fast as I could.

"Can we get some medicine for my friend's wound?" I asked tensely.

My mother nodded her head violently. "Absolutely! Come on in."

I hesitated. Should I really do this? But worry of Thalia took over me, and I took Annabeth's hand, which was holding Thalia's arm. Together we hauled Thalia into the house.

The house hadn't changed much. It smelled like chocolate chip cookies, and it looked like my mother had it still looking half normal.

"How have things been going?" I asked nervously.

My mother sighed, and I realized just how old she was starting to look. Her hair was still white, but her face was starting to wrinkle. She was still beautiful in a way. But I could still see her as a green eyed freak.

"Everything is fine here, Luke. But I was fraught with worry about you. I was so scared. I thought you had died or had gotten kidnapped. I had sent people phone calls trying to locate you and everything."

I was surprised. My mother...was searching for me?

Of course! She loved me when she wasn't a _freak_! But I couldn't stand her when she was a freak.

"And you didn't find me, I guess?"

"No, I didn't. Everyone I knew thought you had died, but I knew you didn't."

I stared blankly at her as she walked over to me.

"I hoped you would come back, Luke. I knew you would, I knew it!" she clasped my hand excitedly.

"...**_Right_**..." I muttered awkwardly, slowly prying my hand away from hers. "We're kind of in a hurry. Can you get some medicine to help my friend?"

My mother nodded. "Yes, bring your friend right here." She pointed to the bar.

I hesitantly went to go get Thalia. She had been lying on the couch, her knee still bleeding slowly. When I picked her up she groaned.

"Luke..." she whispered, touching my cheek. I bit my lip because I wanted to avenge Thalia. She smiled when I didn't pull away.

"You're going to be okay Thalia. I swear," I said softly.

Thalia nodded slowly. "You're a good leader, Luke. You always take good care of Annabeth...and me. I appreciate all you do for us."

I put my hand over her hand and squeezed. "We're a family. Families look after each other."

Thalia nodded. I helped her up and carried her out to the kitchen. Annabeth was there eating a cookie. I noticed it was burnt. Annabeth was carefully peeling away the crisp parts of the cookie.

"Is this okay to eat?" she asked me.

When my mother wasn't looking I shook my head. "Don't," I whispered. "It's burnt. Not yummy."

Annabeth gave me a silly grin and threw away the cookie.

I gave her a thumb up. My mother would be done soon, and if all went well we would be leaving in less than twenty minutes. I was excited to leave.

Suddenly, a man walked into the kitchen who I never thought I would see. It was the man in my mother's photos! What was he doing here? And how did he get here?

He was holding a small bag of groceries and he had a stupid smile on his face. "May dear? I'm home! And I brought groceries!"

May dropped Thalia's medicine on her bad knee in her surprise. Thalia groaned in pain and I rushed over to her.

"Mom, you hurt her!" I whined.

"I'm sorry, Luke." May gave me an apologetic smile and began to place the medicine on Thalia again.

The man's eyebrow rose. "Luke?"

I glared over at the man. "I know who _you_ are."

"You do?" The man looked over at May in surprise.

I nodded. "You're Hermes."

Hermes stifled a laugh. "Yes, I am Hermes. But do you know who _I am_?"

I tipped my head to the side. "**_Hermes_**...?"

Hermes glanced at May. "Is my son stupid or something?"

I gasped. _"Son?"_

Thalia looked over at me and mouthed out_ son_?

Annabeth clapped her hands in joy. "Son!"

I gave the man an accusing glare. "You're not...?"

Hermes sighed. "I'm sorry to say but I am your father." 


	14. An Argument of Destiny

I glared at the man claiming to be my father. "You're not my father," I growled.

Hermes twirled his finger in his hair. "Ah, but I am. I _said_ I was sorry to say it, wasn't I?" He gestured for me to come with him into the living room. I slowly followed him.

He put his hand on my arm as we sat on the couch. "I was hoping to meet you one day, Luke," he began.

For some reason, I thought he was lying. Check that, I knew he was lying. If he really hoped to meet me he would have visited more often; way more often.

I drew my arm away from him. "Get away from me," I hissed at him. "You didn't want to meet me. You just hid away in your world. You're no god; you're just a guy that thinks that he needs to have everything his way. Did you ever see what trouble I've been through?" I pointed to my mother. "What she put me through?"

My father gave me a sympathetic look. "Now don't go blaming your mother for your problems. Your mother was trying to protect you. That's why she got this way."

I blinked. "Protect me? She was trying to protect me when she grabbed me and shook me with those green eyes? That could have mentally damaged me!"

Hermes nodded thoughtfully. "Now it could. But you had a strong mind. You handled it."

I frowned. "You didn't even care! You would have stopped her if you did!"

Hermes sighed. "Perhaps I would have, but your destiny was to go through that."

"My destiny?"

"Yep; you were given your own destiny, Luke. Demigods have dangerous destinies and are often finished with painful blows. Luke, your destiny is no different."

I glowed for a second. "You know my destiny?"

Hermes gave me that all knowing smile. "Yes I do. Almost all of the gods know your destiny."

I eagerly grabbed my supposed father arm. "Tell me father. Tell me my destiny. Prove you love me. Tell me my destiny."

Hermes hesitated. "No."

I widened my eyes. "No?"

Hermes nodded. "No."

"Why?"

"Your destiny is not one that needs to be discussed, Luke. If I tell you your destiny, then you will try to change it. Changing fate will result in an even more painful death."

"I'll have a painful death?" my voice cracked.

"Not exactly..."

I blew up. "Father! You don't care about me! If you did, you would have told me about my destiny. You would have saved me from my mother. You don't care!"

"I do care! That's why you were born!" Hermes said sadly.

"Oh...sure! Sure you did. You cared only about yourself and maybe my mother. "

"No I don't..."

"You never cared about any of us! Gods are all the same! They're all selfish! They don't deserve to be gods!"

"We deserve to be gods! It's only that some gods have so many kids that they can't keep track of them all."

"And you are one of them! You have had so many kids that you can't keep track of any of them which goes to show you that you don't care about any of your kids! Maybe a selected few are cared about because they're great and strong. You're a selfish, old sorry excuse for a god."

Hermes gave me a sad look. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I wish that we could be on better terms, Luke."

I gave him a look that was filled with sarcasm. "Sure you do."

Hermes looked genuinely hurt. "Luke, I do. You know I care about you. Otherwise you'd be dead by now. Those monsters out there could easily kill you if they wanted to. But I'm so gracious to you that I don't allow them to kill you."

"Why? Is it because of my stupid destiny?"

"Destinies aren't stupid Luke. Only if you believe they are stupid will they seem stupid to you. You have been given a very rare destiny. You were always my favorite son." He gave me a rather odd but hopeful wink. Just maybe he did care.

I began to form a small smile but then the voice in my head returned. Drum roll, dun duh dun duh and all that.

_Luke! What the heck do you think you are DOING?_

_Maybe you're wrong. Maybe my father does care about me. Sometimes, maybe..._

_No! He doesn't care about you! He just sits on his lazy butt on Olympus and watches demigods like you suffer for fun. Gods are selfish, and they like to twist demigods minds into doing what THEY want the little godling to do." _

I hesitated. _I don't think...?_

_Luke, come on! Face it, your father never cared. If he did he would have been there for you when you needed him the most. And the little story about him helping you with the monsters? Blah! A bunch of baloney! _

_But..._

_What? You want thing to get better? Things will NEVER get better until those gods are dead! _

_ He said I was his favorite son! Surely that means something?_

_Nope! Nothing at all. He wants you to think that to get you to do whatever he pleases. Gods are all the same, please understand this Luke. They don't care about their kids, only their affairs at the time. _

I bit my lip. I nodded slowly. _I understand. _

I stood up abruptly. "What's the matter Luke?" Hermes asked me.

I glared at him. "Thalia! Are you ready?"

Thalia called from the kitchen, "Yes! Are you?"

I glanced for a brief second at Hermes. "Yes."

I stormed into the kitchen. May was now washing dishes. "Let's go," I said, placing my shoulder next to Thalia for her to lean on.

Thalia groaned and leaned on my shoulder.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked softly.

Thalia nodded. "I feel good enough to get out of this place."

Annabeth took my hand and we walked towards the door. Hermes called after us, "Luke! You don't understand! You need to fulfill your destiny!" I ignored him.

_Oh yes, I need to fulfill my destiny, but not the one you want me to fulfill, whatever that may be. I don't care at all. My one destiny lies with Thalia and Annabeth and eventually with the gods dead at my feet. _


	15. Everybody's Got A Baby Kangeroo?

The next couple weeks were rough to say the least. Thalia's leg was healed and Annabeth and I found a weapon for myself. It was a sword and a beauty too. The problem was that we stole it from a weapon shop and now we were wanted big time for it.

Even though we were wanted for a lot of money Annabeth and Thalia were happy and to honest, I was happy too. I mean, even though I met my father and how bad of a father he turned out to be, I was happy to know that at least a couple people loved me in my life.

The only time Thalia and I got angry at each other was when we would talk about my father.

"From the kitchen, I could hear sincerity in his voice," Thalia said.

"He doesn't care, Thalia! He never did care and he never will! It's too late for him to change!"

I would storm off, but not out of ear range to hear Thalia say, "It's never too late to change; no matter how messed up you are."

I would just ignore her. She could be so annoying sometimes.

_It's too late for him to change_, the voice would say in my head. _He had his chance a long time ago. He could have helped you, but he didn't. It's too late. _

_Yes...it is..._

"Luke! Luke!" I woke up to Annabeth shaking my arm.

I glared at her. "What is it?"

Annabeth shrank back. "I-It's Thalia. She seems upset. I was hoping you could talk to her."

I nodded. "Sure."

Annabeth pulled her hair nervously. "And I saw wanted signs with our faces on it. Thalia looks angry, I look good enough, and you look sad."

I wanted to laugh at Annabeth's look on her face, but I decided not to. "Okay, I'll talk to her then after breakfast we'll get going."

Thalia was making breakfast by our fire. "Good morning Luke," she said, not turning her head.

"Morning. What's wrong with you? Annabeth said-"

"I'm fine." She smiled at me. "I was just thinking about my father. If you were so sure that all the gods were bad, then you would go and destroy them. My father is among them. Would you destroy him too?"

I gaped. "How did you know that I was-?"

Thalia shrugged. "You talk in your sleep. So are you going to or not?"

"I'm not sure," I said, nervously picking at my jean pockets.

"Well if you did, I wouldn't be too happy. Even though they hurt us, we shouldn't hurt them. It would only prove that we are just like them."

I looked down at the ground while Thalia stirred our breakfast broth. "Do you know who your father is?" I asked.

Thalia shook her head. "Nope, but I certainly have a guess."

"Who do you think he is?"

"I'm not positive, so I'm not going to say anything until I'm sure."

..." Okay."

Thalia laid the spoon down the ground, which made me cringe inside.

"So... about your father? Are you going to get your revenge?"

I hesitated. Sure, I would have loved to scream **_"Yeah! Why shouldn't I?"_**

But I held it in. "I'm not sure. I have to take care of you and Annabeth. You mean more to me than my revenge. I'll get my revenge eventually."

I waited for Thalia to respond. But she didn't for quite some time. When she did her voice was husky.

"Eventually? You'll get it eventually? Luke, I don't want to bust your bubble, but you need to think this over. You'll have tons of blood on your hands. Please don't do it, Luke."

I turned away. "Let's get going. Annabeth said she saw wanted signs around this place for us."

Thalia's eyes suddenly turned more alert, the Thalia I knew. "Right. Let's eat and go."

We quickly ate, and then we headed off into the woods.

Annabeth was singing a song that went like: _"Everybody's got a baby kangaroo, yours is pink, and mine is blue..."_

Thalia, after hearing the first line be repeated over ten times she started to sing along with her.

Suddenly I heard shouting. I could hear voices crying out, "It's this way! They're not gonna get away this time!"

Annabeth stopped talking and signing. Thalia pulled out her spear. "What is it?" she asked.

I gulped. "I think it's the police."


	16. The Chase

"Run!" Thalia decided for all of us. She pushed Annabeth to get her going and I raced after her. We couldn't stand by and fight only because the police were mortal. They couldn't hurt us. Annabeth was trailing behind Thalia so I slowed down to grab her hand.

"Hurry!" I said.

Annabeth nodded her head, her breath coming out in ragged gasps.

A little ways in front of me, Thalia shouted. _[to my great disgust. Hello? We're trying to get away here!]_

"Luke! Come quickly!"

I threw Annabeth on my shoulders (to her great delight, she was laughing the whole time yelling 'giddy up') and raced up to Thalia. "What's your problem?" I hissed. "Do you _want_ the police to hear us?"

Thalia put her hand over my mouth. "_Shh_! Do _you_ want it to get away?" she asked.

I was confused and she probably noticed that. She pointed a little ways ahead of us. I gasped softly. It looked like Santa's reindeer only it was frosted white. It was standing on its hind legs and smelled the air.

"Dinner," Thalia whispered. Annabeth nodded happily.

I glanced nervously behind me. The police were advancing on us. We really had to hurry and go. We didn't have time for this.

"Luke, do you want me to kill it for dinner?"

I hesitated. We didn't have time to be thinking about dinner. We had to get away before the police caught us.

"No, let's go." I found myself saying those words.

Thalia gaped at me. "You take Annabeth and go. I'm going to give us some meat."

Annabeth looked at me, afraid. "Will we be okay, Luke?" she asked softly.

Without thinking, I kissed Annabeth's forehead and took her in my arms.

"We'll be fine," I murmured in her ear.

She was shivering; probably from fear. "If you say so Luke. I trust you."

I smiled. "Okay."

I glanced at Thalia who was holding her spear so tight her hands were completely pale. "Don't die, and follow our trail," I said sternly. Thalia nodded confidently.

I took Annabeth's hand and together we raced for the shelter of the trees.

We ran until Annabeth pointed to a bush. "Hide there!" she said.

"What are you crazy? But the police have dogs!" I said.

Annabeth was going to reply but then an arrow was aimed at my head. Luckily it hit to the side where my head had been just a second ago. I stopped abruptly and pulled Annabeth beside me.

Annabeth glanced around swiftly. "What is it?"

"An arrow," I said, picking it up. It was a silver arrow that curved at the end, but still looked very sharp.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Who shot it?"

"I don't know, Annabeth." I looked around. There it was again! Another arrow whizzed past me.

"Come on!" I grabbed Annabeth's hand and together we ran across the now darkened forest floor. The police's voices and radio cells blasted in our ears and I knew that they were close.

Annabeth kept pace with me her breath starting to become ragged. I knew she couldn't go on like this much longer. After all, she was only seven years old. Suddenly I had an idea. I hoped it would work (obviously) but I had a feeling it wouldn't.

"Get to that tree, Annabeth!" I said, pointing over to a large oak tree.

It still had its leaves bursting with green, even though most of the trees' leaves were brown due to a drought that had lasted most of the summer. Annabeth tore to the trees as fast as her little legs could take her and I kept pace with her guiding her whenever she began to stumble.

"You can do it," I hissed in her ear. "Just keep going."

She nodded. "I think I can do it, I think I can," she huffed and puffed as she began climbing the tree.

I pushed her up the first branch, glancing around for Thalia. If the police had already caught her...there's no telling what I would do. I might go berserk. Annabeth was now on the third branch and she was climbing fast.

"Just stay up there, no matter what happens!" I cried. "I'm going to find Thalia."

Annabeth's lip began to quiver. "What's wrong?" I asked gently, ignoring the panic that began to rise in my chest when I heard the police's voices coming ever closer.

_Don't let them catch us. Please don't' let them catch us, _I prayed to nobody in particular. I later thought it could have been to my father, but only the gods know who I was praying to I guess.

"I'm scared," Annabeth whispered. I tried to sound more confident than I felt. "We'll be fine, I promise. The police won't find you if you stay in that tree. Keep climbing and the dogs won't be able to smell you. I'll be back as soon as I find Thalia. You're a warrior, so you need to be brave."

Annabeth's eyes began to form tears. "Do warriors ever get scared?" she asked. I hesitated. "Yes, a warrior does get scared. But they remember that a warrior is to have courage.

Annabeth nodded slowly. "Alright," she said, biting her lip until blood began to leak out of her mouth. "I'll be brave for you, Luke."

I would have hugged her if she wasn't' out of range but I just gave her a small wave and a killer smile. "I'll be back soon, I promise," I said, racing back into the dark forest. My feet pounded against the floor as I raced back where I last saw Thalia. In about five minutes I reached the place where Thalia and I had parted.

"Thalia!" I called. "Where are you?" No answer. I strained my ears to listen for anything. But there was nothing. I couldn't' even hear the police.

Suddenly, I felt someone or something's touch on my shoulder. I turned around thinking it was Thalia, but then I gasped. It was a girl with black hair and a white tiara on her head. I let out the small gasp because she was beautiful, even though she was a couple years younger than me. She looked to be Thalia's age.

"Godling male, you must leave the forest,_ now_," she rasped.


	17. Thalia Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

"Why?" I demanded.

"This forest is not yours. You must leave before my hunters will shoot you to the ground." As soon as she spoke, as if they were on cue, about 50 girls appeared behind the black haired girl. They all looked young and youthful even though I could see some age in their eyes; as if they had seen some pretty awesome or awful things in their years.

"Do you grant us permission to shoot, Zoe?" one of the girl's asked.

The black haired girl, the apparent Zoe, lowered her bow. "It is just a godling male. If he does not leave, you are free to shoot."

"I'm leaving as soon as I can, but I'm looking for my friend!" I quickly explained to the girls the situation I was in.

"There are police? In the forest?" one of the hunters gasped.

"That's terrible!" another said.

Zoe looked like she was frozen. In about five seconds the frost queen spoke, "Is this girl your friend?" she asked, her voice cracking with anger.

"Who?" I asked, my hopes getting really high.

Zoe waved her hand to her hunters and as if by signal the hunters moved aside to make an aisle way. Behind the aisle, I could see for miles. There was a ton of girls. But behind the aisle I could see one girl that looked familiar. I gasped. It was Thalia!

She glanced up at me. "Luke!" she cried. "What happened? Where's Annabeth?"

"Long story," I said quickly. "What happened to you?"

Thalia began to reply, but Zoe cut her off. "She was trying to kill a sacred animal for her own need. We thought we would take the liberty to take her to Artemis to see what she wanted us to do with her. Thalia might want to join the hunt."

I glanced at Thalia who was looking at the ground. "Why would she want to join you?" I asked.

Zoe shrugged as if I were stupid. "She's a girl, isn't she? Girls have the chance to become immortal and hunt among sisters. We are one here and we all fight for Artemis our lord. Thalia could live forever without the bothering trouble called boys (she said it liked it was cursed) and live among sisters. She could have a family. "

"Thalia's with me and our friend Annabeth! She can't just leave us for you!" I spat.

"Oh really? Is that what Thalia wants or what you want?" Zoe snapped.

I froze. Thalia was still glancing down at the ground. "Well?" I said, turning to Thalia. "Is it true? Do you want to join the hunt?"

Thalia's mouth opened to speak, but then it shut again. I stood there, ridged. _How could she want to join the hunt?_ I wondered. _How?_

"With the hunters I could have a family," Thalia said. "And I could live forever with them. Eventually you will die and Annabeth will die, only causing me pain. With the hunters, I could live freely without the pain of your deaths."

"But Thalia! Annabeth and I **_ARE _**your family!****We both care deeply about you and would hate it if you left us. You're our friend, and one the key members of our family. OUR family. Not the hunters." Then I lowered my voice. "But it is your choice. If this is goodbye, then it's goodbye. If it is goodbye, however, make it quick. I need to get back to Annabeth."

Zoe looked at Thalia. "That boy will only because you pain, Thalia Grace. Do not do it. If you leave now, he will only betray you. I see much hate in his heart. He will easily abandon you for something or someone else."

Thalia glanced at me than at Zoe. She walked down the long aisle of Hunters to stand beside me.

She slowly reached out her hand and touched my cheek. I suddenly had the feeling in my heart that this was goodbye.

"Thalia-" I said but Thalia cut me off.

"Luke, I love you way too much to lose you. You are the most important thing in the world to me, you, and Annabeth. You ever betraying me _(she glares at Zoe)..._ would only be for a good reason. You're right most of the time anyway, so I would gladly follow any decision you make. But... I want to be immortal too."

"Did you get it?" I asked her suddenly, thinking out loud.

"Get what?" Thalia asked, her head tipped to the side. Zoe looked like her head was about to explode with anger.

"The reindeer thing, did you get it?"

Thalia laughed. "I did, but the hunters took it from me. It was an unneeded kill in their opinion."

"Oh."

"Luke," Thalia sighed. "I think...that I'll be with you even if it causes me the greatest pain in the world. You're worth the pain." And straight out of Disney, she did the most unlikely thing in the world. She kissed me!

Zoe gasped and most of the hunters did too. "Thalia, what have you done?" she shrieked.

Once our kiss was over, Thalia turned to face Zoe. "I'm with Luke, and I'm for him and Annabeth. There's no way you can bait into joining the hunt. Once they both die, I may consider joining, but for now...get lost."

Zoe scoffed. "Boys only bait girls in with what the girls want, in your case, love and a family. Once the boy is through with them, he will betray you. And you will forever regret your choice. Pain from betrayal is worse than pain from a loved one's death."

"Then I'm ready to take that pain. Like I said before Zoe, I'm not ready to join the hunt. Get lost!" Zoe stiffened. "Very well." With that, Zoe and her hunters either faded away, or raced off in great numbers across the woods.

I smiled at Thalia. "Thank you," I said softly.

Thalia nodded. "You're welcome. I'm glad you came to stop me Luke. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to be with you."

"Did you mean everything you said?" I asked. "About your love for me?"

"Of course I did, you big dork!" Thalia said. "I loved you for as long as I can remember...do you love me?"

"Do I love you?" I hesitated. I wasn't sure to be honest with you folks. Sure, she was awesome and beautiful, but did I love her? I guess I could love her, I like the way she makes me feel. Not sure if the feeling is love or not.

"I like you a ton, Thalia," I offered. It seemed to satisfy Thalia. It seemed like hours, though it was only for a few seconds, we stared into another's eyes.

I wanted to kiss her again, but something stopped me. My blood turned cold. It was a scream from one of the important people in my life.

"It's Annabeth!" I cried.

Thalia's face paled. "Where did you leave her?" she demanded.

I gulped. "In a tree, in the direction of the police."

Thalia's face grew in terror. "We have to go, now!" she screamed. "We're coming, Annabeth!"


	18. The Rescue

Thalia and I raced off into the woods once again; this time not away from the police, but towards them.

"I'll kill them, I'll kill those police!" I vowed as we raced towards their sound.

Thalia kept pace beside me. "It'll be okay," she said to herself. "Annabeth's got to be okay."

In a couple minutes we found the police to my great pleasure. Thalia and I hid behind the bushes, crossing our fingers. But what didn't please me was how they were treating Annabeth.

One policeman was holding her by her hair. She was screaming, "Let me go you freak!"

The policeman only laughed and said, "You tell us where the other two are, and we'll let you go for now."

Annabeth gulped. "I'll**_ NEVER _**give up on my friends! They'll come and save me from you freaks!"

The policeman shook her hair, making her scream in agony.

I gripped my sword and hoped that I could attack any minute. Thalia grimaced beside me, and I knew that she felt horrible about Annabeth's position she was in. Nodding to her, we walked out from the bushes.

"Can we have our friend?" I decided to be polite.

The policewoman gasped. "It's him! He is the one who stole the sword!"

The policemen dove for me, but I sidestepped them easily. "Nice try," I taunted.

Thalia seemed to know what I was doing. She shook her butt and cried, "Silly police! You can't even catch a bunch of kids! What loons!"

The police let go of Annabeth and chased towards us. One pulled out a gun. "I don't want to shoot you kids, but you leave me no choice," he said.

Thalia stood tall, and lifted her chin in the air. "You think you'd actually shoot?" Her eyes began to look like puppy eyes. "Please... we're lost and confused. Nobody wants us, and we don't want anybody. If you could just forget the whole 'Luke steals a sword' case, we could all live in peace."

All the police just stared at her. Thalia continued, "Think of your families. You're away from them all the time. Don't you think it would be a great present for your families if you could come home early instead of chasing a bunch of _kids_?"

"What about the sword?" a policewoman shouted.

"What about the sword? She cleared her throat. "The sword was destroyed right after Luke stole it. He accidentally dropped it in the river when we tried to escape the store. We don't have the sword anymore, though you are still chasing us."

The policeman slowly lowered his gun. "You don't have the sword?"

"No."

The policewoman sighed as Annabeth raced over to me and grabbed my hand. "Luke," she smiled up at me with bloody lips.

I smiled back at her. "We gotta get you cleaned up later."

Annabeth grinned. "I know."

The policeman put his gun back in his pocket. "I suppose we could drop the case if you pay the full price for the sword."

My jaw dropped. "Sir, we're deathly poor! How much was the sword?"

"Ah... I would say a good 10,000 bucks. It was very valuable."

"We have to pay for all of it? Are you nuts?"

"Not really. If you don't want to be arrested for stealing, then yes, you do need to pay the full price of the sword."

My shoulders slumped. There was no way I could just rip out 10,000 dollars out of my pocket. Thalia snapped her fingers beside of me.

"We don't need to pay any of it," she said in a weird tone of voice. It was almost creepy.

The policeman's eyebrow was raised. "What?"

"We don't need to pay any of the money," Thalia repeated, her tone even more creepy than before. "You know we kids can't pay the full price, and why would you arrest us?"

The policeman seemed to consider this, which was creeping me out. "What are you doing?" I hissed in Thalia's ear.

"Shut up," she growled. "You'll see."

"We don't need to pay, and you'll drop the case," Thalia said to the police. All of the police seemed to be in a trance. Some swayed to the side a bit and some of their eyes were glazed over, as if they were drunk.

"You don't need to pay. We'll drop your case," all the police said in union, in a dazed voice.

Thalia smiled. "Exactly. So you'll leave us now, and forget you even saw us."

"We will leave and forget we even saw you," the police said. Taking their dogs that were tied to a nearby tree, the police officers walked away in a dream. More like a nightmare.

"What'd you do that for?"I asked.

Thalia frowned. "I made them go away. That's what you wanted, right?"

I hesitated. "But you didn't have to make them leave like they were in a dream!"

"I didn't know that was going to happen! This was my first time doing whatever I did!"

"Mind control?" Annabeth, who had been silent for awhile, asked.

"Maybe it was mind control," Thalia said.

Suddenly, she seemed to realize something more important. Pointing to me, she said, "You knew this was going to happen, all of it! The hunters, the police! You were warned somehow! That's why you wanted us to move!"

My heart felt like it stopped beating. What if Thalia and Annabeth figured out that I had an evil voice in my head?

" Who warned you?" Thalia pressed.

"I... uh... my dad?" I stuttered. The lie hurt, as all lies do. I felt a twist ion my stomach. Lying to my family was one of the worst things ever. Even taking a life of a monster wasn't that bad.

Thalia's eyes widened. She twisted Annabeth's hair nervously. "Really?"

I nodded. "Uh, yeah. I'll tell you about it later. We need to get moving."


	19. A Can Eating Goat Man

It turned out our whole trying to get away plan didn't turn out too well. We didn't get the deer; we hardly got anything except that the police closed our case.

"I mean, that's a good thing, right Luke?" Annabeth asked sweetly.

I would say yes and no. I mean, it was good that the police weren't after us anymore, but it meant that we couldn't get into anymore trouble. We couldn't do a single thing against the law ever again, or else we would pay the price. Not a good one either.

Things started to slow down after we escaped the police and the hunters, except we would fight an occasional monster or two.

But then things really sped up when a satyr came into our path.

^.^.^.^.^

Thalia was the first to see the satyr. We were out walking by a stream, trying to get some water. Annabeth was barefoot in the water, playing and splashing in the stream. I got my bucket out and began to get some water. I tasted it first to make sure it was worth getting. It was cold and refreshing. I smiled. Thalia was dipping her bucket into the water and was splashing Annabeth with the water she collected.

Annabeth lifted her head out of the water. Smiling at Thalia, she called, "Luke! Do you want to play?" I hesitated. We had to hurry and get water, but we had been hard at work for awhile now. We could use a break.

I personally needed one. I had been hard at my feet for the past couple of weeks. I mean, we didn't encounter too much trouble, but we still had to fight monsters occasionally. We didn't see any police officers, and we didn't meet up with the Hunters again. But there were other things that stood in our way of surviving. It was getting colder, and food was harder to find. I had to work twice as hard to get food for Thalia and Annabeth, so I almost was always lacking sleep. Thalia helped too, but she was usually with Annabeth, so she could not help me find food.

"Not now, Annabeth, we have to get going! You shouldn't be in the water, anyway! It's getting colder now, so you shouldn't be in the stream."

Annabeth glanced at Thalia. "Really?"

Thalia hesitated. "Yes, you should go ahead and get out of there." She held out her hand to help Annabeth out.

Laughing, Annabeth took Thalia's hand. "What's so funny?" Thalia asked.

"Your hair is filled with seaweed," Annabeth said, pointing to Thalia's head. I burst out laughing.

Thalia touched the top of her head. Pulling out the seaweed, she laughed. "I wonder how that got in there..."

"I put it in there!" Annabeth said proudly.

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Annabeth nodded, but raced ahead before Thalia could get to her. Thalia dropped her pail in her attempt to get Annabeth.

I picked up Thalia's pail and filled it with water. "Let's go, gang!" I called.

_Maybe then I can get a break back at camp... I need one. I need to figure out what I want to do..._

Us three together, I, Thalia and a wet Annabeth trudged back to our temporary forest home.

Annabeth skipped beside me, holding Thalia's free hand. "When we get back, will you play with me?" she asked me.

"I'm not sure, Annabeth..." I started but I was drowned off by Thalia. "Look! A camera!" she cried.

She picked it up. "What is it?" Annabeth asked.

"A camera. It takes photos of people," I explained.

Annabeth grew a big smile on her face. "Luke! Take a picture of me and Thalia!" She grabbed Thalia and gave me a toothy grin. Thalia tossed me the camera.

_There goes my break,_ I sighed in my head.

I turned on the camera, surprised that it had some battery left over.

_Could be a trap,_ I thought. I quickly took a picture of Thalia and Annabeth.

"Now can we go now?" I asked.

Thalia nodded, though Annabeth wanted a picture with me before leaving, so we got going after I got a picture with her. We were walking back to our campsite thingy when Thalia gasped.

"What?" I asked.

Thalia pointed into the trees. "Did you see that?" she asked.

"What?" I asked softly. Thalia pointed and I looked where she was pointing.

I didn't see anything. Maybe Thalia was seeing things. "You okay, Thalia?" I asked. "I don't see anything at all."

Thalia looked like I was the one who was seeing things. "Don't you see it?"

"See what?"

Thalia pointed into the trees again. "That goat like thing..."

I stared at Thalia again as if she was crazy. "I don't see any goat thing. Maybe you're just dreaming.

Thalia shrugged. "Maybe I am." The matter was dropped immediately. We soon reached out shelter where I was able to have a couple hours to take a nap. And all was well until I woke up to Thalia shaking me.

I groaned. "Go away, Thalia," I moaned.

"Luke, it's here," she hissed. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. It was growing dark; the sun was beginning to set.

"What?" I looked around. Everything seemed normal.

"It's that dumb goat thing again. I saw him," Thalia insisted.

I sat up. "Enough with the goat, Thalia. Are you trying to get attention?"

Thalia gave me an evil look. "I'm not making it up! Do you trust me?"

I hesitated. I never doubted Thalia before, but seeing a goat thing all around the place... was just a bit weird. "I trust you," I said, smiling slowly.

Thalia gave me a long look, than she smiled back. I remembered what she had said about the Hunters. If you loved me, she trusted me. I should do the same for her.

"Alright, where do you see him/her?"

Thalia pulled me out of our shelter and pointed out in the distance. I glanced where she was pointing and behold, there it was. Thalia was right; it had goat legs, but not exactly a full goat.

It had a human head, which was a bit disturbing.

"Do you see it?" Thalia asked softly.

"Yeah," I breathed. "I see it."

"Let's go check it out," Thalia whispered. Together, we moved slowly out of the shelter.

"Be careful," I warned Thalia. She nodded. "Okay."

We snuck out behind the fire pit and hid behind the nearest bush. The goat like thing turned its head, as if it was looking at us. We ducked quickly.

"It's coming..." Thalia whispered.

I looked above the bush. The goat thing was heading this way, and in a very fast manner. He looked to be rushed.

"Maybe he is friendly," I offered.

Thalia considered this. "But when has anyone been friendly to us?" she asked.

I hesitated. I couldn't answer her question. The goat like thing was advancing towards us even faster. He appeared to be chewing something.

_Is that a tin can? _I wondered.

"What do we do, Luke?" Thalia whispered.

"I don't know," I said.

We stood frozen in terror until the goat like thing found us. He was middle sized, with a nervous looking face. He had acne all over his face, and he had brown curly hair.

He gave us a nervous look. "Um... hello."

Thalia's face slowly broke into a grin. "Why hello there, goat pants! How are you doing?"

The goat like man smiled slowly at Thalia. "I'm okay, you?"

Thalia held out her hand and the man shook it. "I'm fine. How is it that you have a man's upper half and a goat's bottom half?"

The goat man gave Thalia a look. "I'm a satyr. Satyrs have a human's upper body and then a goat's lower body. It's how we were made."

Thalia smiled. "Well, hello satyr."

"I'm Grover," the satyr said quickly, as if he wasn't fond of being called satyr.

I stood up slowly. "I'm Luke, and this is Thalia."

Grover smiled. "It's nice to meet you two. Uh . . . er, by any chance . . . um. . ."

Thalia and I looked at him expectantly.

"Do you two happen to be . . . uh . . . demigods?"

I was going to pretend that I didn't know what he was talking about, maybe he was a monster. I didn't trust this guy. But Thalia spoke for me.

"Yes, we're demigods. That's why we didn't freak about because you're a satyr." Grover put his hands in his pockets. He looked to be a bit disturbed.

"Do you know who your parents are?" he asked softly.

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know who my father is. My godly father, I mean. Luke knows who his godly parent is." I wanted to slap Thalia for telling this Grover guy all this personal information about us, but I decided now wasn't the best time.

"And who is his father?" Grover asked. Did I mention that I also didn't appreciate how he was talking like I wasn't there?

"Hermes," I said before Thalia could. Grover turned over to me.

"You look like him," he said, bleating. I grabbed Grover by his collar.

"I do not!" I screamed.

"Temper temper," Grover teased softly.

Thalia pulled at her jeans nervously. I could tell that she was starting to look anxious. "So why are you here?" she asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found you guys for a reason. I came from a camp called Camp Half-Blood. It is a camp for kids like you, demigods I mean. Satyrs like me come and find demigods like you two and take you to the camp. "

"Camp?" Thalia echoed. I got the feeling she was starting to get suspicious.

"Is the camp like a prison?" I accused, my anger starting to rise.

Grover raised his hands up. "Not at all! Erm, It's a refuge for demigods. It protects demigods."

Suddenly I heard a cry come from our shelter. "Thalia? Luke?" It was Annabeth.

Thalia walked over and picked Annabeth up. Brushing the hair out of her face, Thalia smiled. "Morning Annabeth. How are you feeling today?"

Annabeth probably could tell something was wrong, but if she did know something was wrong, she didn't show it. "Fine," she smiled, pressing her face into Thalia's shoulder.

While Thalia was with Annabeth I lowered my voice and asked Grover, "Is the camp safe all the time? Is it a place where we three can go and we'll be safe? We'll have food and clean water?"

Grover nodded. "Yes, I can guarantee your safety and I can guarantee they'll feed you at least twice a day."

The camp was starting to sound very inviting to me, and if they fed you and gave you a place to sleep where it was safe, and no monsters were ever seen there what was I waiting for? I should hurry up and take the chance while I had it.

"Okay. I'll talk to my family tonight and we'll meet up with you here again tomorrow," I said a bit hastily.

Grover looked over at Thalia, who was still talking to Annabeth. "Very well, I'll er, be off then," he said, turning to leave.

Thalia's eyes left Annabeth to watch Grover leave me. Once he had gone for awhile, she came over to me. "What did you tell Grover?" she asked.

Annabeth was in the background gathering twigs for our fire that night, so she did not hear my reply.

"I told him that we would decide later," I said. "What do you think? Should we go or not?"

Thalia glanced over at Annabeth, who was coming towards the fireplace with the sticks.

"It would be safe there," Thalia muttered. "Annabeth could use a place that is safe. But what if it is a trap?"

I shrugged. "I guess we don't know unless we try."

We soon decided that we would try the camp out. If it turned out to be a trap, we would fight through it. We had been through so much, we could get through a small trap.

We soon met up with Grover again, who was near our shelter for some creepy reason.

"So are you going to go?" Grover asked. He was still chewing on a tin can. It appeared to be the same one that he was chewing last time I saw him.

"How far is it?" I asked skeptically.

"It's not far from here. If we got going now, we could make it there in about two days," Grover said.

For once, he sounded confident.

I looked over at Thalia, who was smiling. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

Thalia nodded. "It feels like it's the right thing to do for Annabeth. She needs somewhere safe to grow up."

"Fine," I said to Grover. "We'll go."


	20. A Dead Man

We began packing as soon as we were finished talking with Grover. Annabeth was really excited, and I was excited as well. Thalia was excited too, but I could tell something was bothering her. When I asked about it, Thalia only smiled and said that she was a bit nervous about whether or not the camp was a trap. I could almost tell she was lying, or not telling the whole truth.

But she was the least of my troubles. I had my own worries. I wasn't sure who long it would be before the voice returned in my head. I didn't want to wait and find out. Plus, I didn't have time though to worry about Thalia, not to sound mean or anything. In a couple days we were ready to leave our shelter forever.

"Goodbye, shelter!" Annabeth called happily.

Grover soon met us by an old willow tree by our shelter. "You all ready?" he asked nervously. I nodded, wondering why the goat thing was so nervous.

Grover led the way from our shelter in silence. Apprehension filled the air. Thalia and Annabeth walked hand in hand, and I was the caboose; just making sure everyone would be safe.

Grover had given us all new weapons before we set out (I wonder how he got those ...) but he had done well. I was given a bronze sword and Thalia was given a knife, which she said she wouldn't need. Her spear would be enough. Annabeth still carried my knife I had given her, and she treasured it like a jewel. She was also given a small light-weight shield. I was happy to see that she was content with the gift from Grover.

_Should I be afraid if he is giving us gifts?_ I wondered.

It was all too much to take. Grover didn't seem like the type of person that would lead us into a trap. But as many different people have pointed out many different times, looks can be very deceiving.

"How far is it to your camp home Grover?" Annabeth asked, skipping next to Thalia.

Grover paused from walking. "It's not too far. . . I think."

"You _think _or do you _know_?" Thalia pointed her finger at Grover accusingly. I butted in front of Thalia, in case Grover was the type that would fight. I guess I shouldn't' have worried so much.

Grover hesitated, and then backed away slowly. Lowering his head, he whispered, "I know."

Thalia gripped her spear. "Good. I was just making sure you weren't leading us astray."

Grover nodded. "I understand."

We walked many fields, valleys, rivers, tall hills and rocky paths for many days, without encountering any monsters. We were very lucky. But we were not so lucky to have Grover as a leader. We knew each time he was nervous, because we could see him pick a can up out his bag and begin to chew.

We knew each time he was afraid because his voice and while body (even his goat hindquarters) would shake uncontrollably (it was real bad the time when Thalia threatened to hit him on the head with the back of her spear if he didn't start moving faster... ah another story). His actions were really easy to read. That was a good thing, as we wouldn't want a mysterious or sinister guide.

We moved for many days, and many days turned into many months. Before we knew it, a whole year had passed. Thalia, Annabeth, and I were beginning to think that we would never ever reach the camp. We were all beginning to doubt Grover and his guidance skills.

The day we met a monster was when some of the group completely lost it.

It was all Grover's fault. If he didn't have to use the bathroom when he did, then we wouldn't have met the monster.

It was about noon and we were all very tired and grumpy. Even cheerful little Annabeth was grouchy and mean.

Grover had led us around in circles countless amounts of times. I swear, I saw the same tree four different times. Trust me. The second time I saw it, I carved my name into it. Not a very good sign.

Grover insisted he knew where he was going, but I was beginning to have my doubts. After breakfast, we set out. Thalia trudged beside me, her face serious.

"That stupid satyr doesn't even know where the heck he is going," she hissed. "Should we just dump him in a ditch and be done with him?"

When I hesitated, Thalia must have taken it for a no. "Luke, it's been a year since we found Grover. He's just been leading us around in circles. We hardly have time to find food. _He_ eats well because he eats trash. We deserve better. _YOU_ deserve better. Annabeth deserves better than a life of wandering."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll have a talk with Grover."

I was getting ready to speak with Grover, but then Annabeth came up to me. Her face was pale.

"Luke, I'm hungry. It's all Grover's fault that we can't find anything good to eat," she said softly, putting her head by my side. Her legs almost had to move twice as fast to keep up with my stride.

"I think you're tired too Annabeth," Thalia said, giving Annabeth a sad smile.

Grover turned around to look at us. "A-Are you guys hungry?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, we are. But I guess you didn't see that as you are too busy constantly driving us around in circles!" Thalia said angrily, putting her hands on her hips.

Grover looked around nervously.

"Listen, I'm s-sorry. I'm a satyr, you guys are demigods. It's a lot harder to communicate with you guys because we don't always share the same feelings."

"We've tried communicating with you," Thalia muttered, but I nudged her.

"Grover, we can't travel with you forever. Eventually we either have to think you're crazy, or you are just lost."

Grover opened his mouth to answer, but then put his hand over his groin. "Hold up, one second. You guys can find food. I need to use the bathroom." He dashed off into the woods.

Thalia tapped her chin. "Odd," she muttered.

"Come on!" Annabeth cried. "Let's find some food!"

I offered to stay and watch for Grover while the girls found food. Together they dashed off. While I was waiting, I thought about a couple things.

How would I ever get revenge on the gods if I was in a Camp with Thalia and Annabeth?

Two, was Thalia and Annabeth going to last forever? Would the gods eventually take them from me?

I sat there are pondered some things like that. A couple minutes passed, and Grover had still not returned.

"You okay Grover?" I called. No answer. I frowned. "Grover?" I called again. Still no reply.

I took a couple steps toward the spot where Grover had been tinkling. He wasn't there. _Shoot,_ I thought. _Where did he go? Did he just leave? That little rat._

I began to search for Grover. My heart turned ice cold. Was Grover a traitor? He was a bit weird, but would he really just leave us lost in the woods? Would he leave us to die?

"Thalia! Thalia! Annabeth! Grover!" I called desperately, searching through the woods.

I couldn't find them anywhere! This was really bad. I raced to the front of the cave, where Grover had been going to the bathroom.

"Grover?" I called. He was not there. If he was, he wasn't answering me.

I walked into the cave, full of worry and fear. I would have given anything for a flashlight. The cave was so dark.

"Are you in here, Grover?" I called.

Suddenly, I heard something in the distance of the cave. I thought it might be Grover. I turned to the direction of the noise, but what I saw made my heart almost stop. It was a huge monster with one big eye. It looked to be smiling down at me, but I knew that his expression was not friendly.

"Eat!" He growled loudly. I backed away cautiously.

"Nice monster," I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

The monster advanced towards me, and when he stepped into the light of the cave I got a better look at him. He was in a word, _ugly_. He had thin stringy hair that ran down to his chin, and he looked like he had worse acne than Grover did. His fists were huge, and if that wasn't bad enough, he was holding a huge club.

I really would like to say that I was courageous and fought like a hero, but really my only thought was . . . _AHHHHHH!_

I dashed away from the monster, screaming for my life. The monster chased after me, yelling once or twice "Food! Dinner! Eat, eat, and eat!"

"Grover!" I screamed. Suddenly I had an idea. I was way smaller than the monster, so perhaps I could squeeze in a hole and hide. I felt around the walls of the cave, trying to find any hole to squeeze myself into. It was hard because the cave was pitching black. All of a sudden, my hands found an opening.

_Yes!_

I let myself fall into the hole. I heard the monster scream in anger, and I could hear his huge hands scraping across the inside of the hole. Little did I know I was falling in a pit, not a hole. Oh man, how deep was the pit? Shoot.

I fell farther and farther, awaiting my death. I prayed that the pit was filled with water, so I had some hope that I may live. As I continued to fall, I heard Thalia's voice in my head, _Luke, I love you way too much to lose you. You are the most important thing in the world to me, you, and Annabeth._

I had let Thalia down. She was going to lose me anyway, not to the Hunters, but to the stupid pit.

_Goodbye Thalia, goodbye Annabeth. _

Then I hit the bottom of the pit.


	21. What Happened In the Pit

_It's been a long time since I updated. I had some logging in problems for a long time, so I couldn't update the story. Thanks for not giving up on me! :)_

**_- Spottedtail_**

* * *

It wasn't water that I hit, and it wasn't a stalagmite either. I hit the cold ground. I landed right on my right leg.

"Ow!" I screamed in agony.

My leg was certainly broken. It was twisted in a weird direction, and something (I dare not say what it was) was sticking out of it. I really wanted to say a curse word, any curse word, but I could barely speak after my cry of pain. I was hoping I would just faint, but I knew that wouldn't happen.

_"Thalia, Annabeth!"_ I groaned.

I felt dizziness come over me, and then I passed out.

^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

I woke up to the throbbing of my leg once again. It was still pitch black in the pit, meaning that help did not come. I was shaking, which my guess was that I bled somewhere, and I was losing loads of blood. I began to smell the floor for a scent of blood.

I could smell it on the ground, meaning that I was bleeding somewhere. Was it my leg? No, it couldn't be.

Though it was painful, I leaned over and inspected my leg. Sure enough, as soon as touched it, it was wet with the stench of blood. It didn't hurt, surprisingly.

_Is it paralyzed? _I wondered. It was completely hopeless. There was nothing else I could do. I was dead.

Then I had an idea. It was crazy, but there was nothing else I could do. I was going to die either of starvation, or of the pain I felt.

I closed my eyes, even though there was no point in the darkness of the cave and I softly prayed to my father and the rest of the gods.

_Father, if possible, could you send help to me? I could really use it right now. I'm sorry for our conversation we had. _

I was silent for the rest of the while. I could not sit up, for every part of my body except for my leg hurt dreadfully.

Then a heard a voice in my head. I had a small tinge of hope that my father answered my prayer, but this was not the case. The Crooked One had come once again.

_Oh Luke, what a shame. You were always such a good boy. Now look what you've done. You have left your family and friends for a death in a pit. Sad, really. I wish I could help you but I really can't. _

_Why not?_

_Because you fool! You left me for Annabeth and Thalia. Are they here to help you now? No!_

_I know, I'm sorry! _

There was no answer.

_Crooked One? Please, if you help me get out, I promise I'll help you. Under any condition. _

It turns out the Crooked One liked this idea. And by the way, what kind of name is the Crooked One?

_Alright, godling. If you swear upon the River Styx that you will do whatever I ask of you under any condition, I will help you. _

_I. . ._

_Do it now. Or I leave you. It's your choice. _

I took a deep breath. I felt dizzy, as if I was going to pass out again.

_Fine. I swear on the River Styx I will do anything you ask under any condition. _

_Good boy. You may stand now._

I slowly stood up to realize that my leg was completely healed. I touched it, and the gash was gone. My head was still a bit dizzy from hunger and thirst, but at least I was in power to cling out if I had to.

As if he could read my mind (he probably could . . . _creepy) _he said, _Your leg was paralyzed. But I've healed it so you can find your way out. But let me ask you this Luke, once you get out, where will you go? Will you find your** friends** again?_

I hesitated. _I'm going to make sure Thalia and Annabeth have a safe place to live. . . then I'll help you in any way I can._

_Good. You will see the path of light which will lead you out to your friends._

For once, the Crooked One sounded sincere, so I looked for any hint of light in the cave. For a couple moments there was no light, and I began to worry that the Crooked One had fooled me.

But all of a sudden, there was a small dash of light on the cave floor. I dropped to my knees and touched it. It was warm like the sun. So he was going to help me. I guess anyone could be honest when they wanted to.

I followed it shortly to the cave entrance. And there is was! I was out. I breathed a sigh of relief.

_ Thank you so much..._

_Don't forget your end of the bargain. _The words pierced through my head.

_I won't. Trust me. _

_Good. _

"Annabeth! Thalia!" I called. It was growing dark outside, so I knew that they would be camping out soon. I sniffed the air for any scent of fire. Since I couldn't smell anything, I walked on into the forest.

Suddenly I heard a voice behind me bleating, "Luke! I've been looking all over for you!" Then my vision was blinded. All I could see was brown curls. It was. . . Grover.

"I got scared when you weren't where I left you. When Thalia and Annabeth came back, we split up and went searching for you."

I was speechless, but I managed to follow Grover back to our make-shift camp. When I got there, Thalia and Annabeth drowned me in hugs and kisses. Later that night, Thalia pulled me aside and shared with me what happened to her and Annabeth after I shared what had happened to me.


End file.
